


Gravitational

by morningstar115



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drama, F/M, Family, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Post-Star Trek: Into Darkness, Pre-Star Trek Beyond, Rediscovery, Romance, Some angst, Stranded, altered backstories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-26 15:22:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 45,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20932424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morningstar115/pseuds/morningstar115
Summary: It's a simple mission for the crew of the Enterprise: Scan and map a previously unexplored planetary system. Until they discover the remains of a long-lost starship, signs of survivors, and a link to one of their own crew members. And if that wasn't enough, there's the question of where most of the survivors disappeared to.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Since I have next to nothing going on in my life right now, I've been revisiting, editing, and moving several of my old fanfictions from FanFiction.Net to AO3. I think this is my only multi-chapter one for Star Trek: 2009. Not too sure how well it holds up...but that's what extensive editing is for.   
Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)

He met her at school when they were fourteen.

Later he would wonder why he went up to the skinny, auburn-haired girl and said hello when he'd never seen her before in his life. He came to the conclusion that it was because she was the only person in school that looked grumpier than he felt just then.

"Hi, I haven't seen you around before."

"I'm new."

"So I figured."

"Why so grumpy?"

"I hate school. Not the work so much, just the people. They're annoying. Why are you so cranky?"

"I didn't want to move here. We lived in San Francisco, but Dad got a new job here, so…"

"San Francisco, huh? Long ways away."

"Tell me about it. I'm going back someday."

"Really?"

"Yeah, when I go to Starfleet Academy."

"You're going to join _Starfleet_?"

"Got a problem with Starfleet, do you?"

"I've got nothing against Starfleet. It's the flying…in ships…in space."

"You're crazy. I love flying."

"I'm not crazy. I just get airsick."

For the first time during the conversation, she smiled. Then she laughed.

They sat together at lunch that day.

* * *

"I hate math!" he groaned, dropping his head dramatically into his hands.

She sighed and grabbed his PADD from him. "Honestly, it's so easy! Sit up and I'll show you."

After she'd helped him figure out the problem, she said, "I get how you feel, though. I hate biology."

"What? Come on, biology is great!"

"So says you. Aren't you going to be a doctor like your dad?"

"Maybe, I'm still thinking about it…"

"Well, I'm going to fly starships. So I don't see where biology comes in."

"You're going to have to do the homework, though."

"True."

They helped each other with homework after that.

* * *

One day they talked about parents.

"My parents are great usually, as you know, but they work a lot," he admitted. "Sometimes I wish they were around more, like when I was younger."

"My dad works a lot, too."

"What about your mom?"

"She left years ago. I don't really remember her."

"I'm sorry. Is your dad nice?"

"Nice enough." She changed the subject.

They didn't talk about her parents again.

* * *

One day she missed school and didn't answer his calls. The next day she showed up in class, wearing a long-sleeved sweater that was way to warm for the time of year.

"Where were you?"

"I was sick."

"You don't look sick."

"I'm better now."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"What's with the sweater? It's too warm to wear something like that."

"I'm okay."

He didn't want to stop asking questions, but the look on her face convinced him to.

* * *

When they were sixteen, she started spending every other night or so at his house.

The first time, she called and asked if she could come over and do homework. His parents didn't mind, so he said yes and they worked on school stuff and then watched a movie together.

She fell asleep on their couch. He didn't have the heart to wake her up and his parents were already in bed.

His parents didn't mind that she'd stayed, but they were concerned about her father. "Wasn't he…won't he be worried?" his mom asked.

"He won't worry," she answered.

* * *

His parents knew before he did. They stopped asking her to call her father and tell him where she was.

He figured it out one day when her long sleeves hiked up her arm and he saw the bruises...bruises in the shape of fingers.

She knew that he saw. He asked her if she wanted to talk about it. She said no.

He started inviting her over to his house before she could ask.

* * *

Around ten p.m. on her eighteenth birthday, while his parents were away, she came stumbling on his front doorstep with a black eye and a nasty case of hysterics. Apparently she'd enlisted in Starfleet that morning, and when she told her father, he attacked her. This time, she hit back.

She was giggling as she told him, "I think knocked out a few teeth. He could barely swear at me, his mouth hurt so bad!"

"Yeah, and you split your knuckles open while you were at it. Hold still."

By the time he had finished bandaging her damaged hand and had fetched an ice pack for her eye, she had dissolved into tears. He held her while she cried, and carried her to his bedroom when she fell asleep. He slept on the couch that night.

* * *

She joined him in the kitchen the next morning.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. You didn't have to give me your bed last night."

"I just wanted you to be comfortable."

"That's…that's sweet."

"You sound surprised."

"Ha! Hardly."

"So, when are you leaving for the Academy?"

"Three weeks."

"That soon, huh? Well, I'll miss you."

"Wow, that must've been hard to admit."

He laughed. "You hungry?"

"Starved."

When she'd eaten something, she asked, "Where are my shoes?"

"By the front door. Why? You can stay here as long as you want."

"I know that, and I will, but I need to go back home and get some stuff."

"I'm going with you."

"Please, don't make this harder…"

"Don't argue with me on this, damn it. It's either I go with you or I call the police on your excuse of a father like you should've done years ago."

She let him come with her. They found her father passed out on a couch. Staying quiet, they retrieved her things and left.

As far as he knew, she never saw her father again.

* * *

"Well, good luck."

"No need to sound so worried; I'm not going into space just yet."

"Yeah, but the Academy is notoriously hard. I've been reading up on it…"

"And you don't think I'm smart enough?"

"Hey, I _know_ you're smart enough."

"Oh, thanks. You can be charming when you want to be."

"Take care of yourself."

"You too."

They hugged and she walked away towards her transport. "Love you!" she called over her shoulder.

He was grinning like an idiot all the way home.

* * *

She went through Starfleet Academy far quicker than most cadets. She was eager to get on a starship.

He took his time enrolling in medical school. He wasn't in too much of a hurry to become a doctor, though his dad kept prodding him.

She was terribly busy, he knew that. But she called him every night and they would talk for an hour or so. Sometimes he would call her first.

Sometimes they laughed. Sometimes they were serious.

She spent her rare vacations with him, too.

At some point during those two years, they became more than friends.

* * *

He went to a medical school not too far from his home. He did well.

She graduated with honors and got a post on a starship. She did very well.

They still called each other when they could, send long-distance messages when they could not.

Whenever she got shore leave on Earth, she'd come visit him. It meant extra travel time for her, but she didn't mind.

* * *

On her last shore leave, he went to her in San Francisco. They spent the weekend together, not wanting nor needing any other company.

Later he remembered it as the best weekend of his life. Though maybe it was just perspective.

He dropped her off at the shuttle pickup. He still didn't really approve of her career path. Not for the first time, he said, "Starfleet is going to be the death of you."

She laughed and kissed him goodbye.

He went back to finish up medical school.

She went back to her ship, which was destroyed in a distant sector about three months later. No survivors were found.

* * *

He couldn't believe it when he first heard the news.

_I joked that Starfleet would be the death of her…_

Some joke that had been. Guilt engulfed him, followed quickly by grief.

Grief which he soon buried and tried to forget. He could be sensible, if he wished, and the sensible option was to come to terms with it all and move on.

So he did. Mostly.

* * *

He was only mildly intoxicated, which was a real pity. Unless he was blind drunk, he couldn't stop thinking about the things…Jocelyn, Joanna, the divorce…that simply pissed him off. Which was why he was headed to a bar right now.

_Should've known it was a mistake to get married._ It wasn't as if they'd really been suited to each other in the first place. He'd been lonely, damn it! She'd taken advantage of that…not that he'd fought it..._Damn woman… she complained through the whole wedding… manipulative, too…How else did she get everything when I got nothing? Okay, maybe that's a little unfair; we were both horrible... but shit, she even got Joanna._

Though considering the state he'd been in for the last few weeks, it was probably a good thing. Ever since he knew he was getting screwed in the divorce, he'd pretty much given up on lots of things, including moderation in drinking and personal hygiene.

_What the hell do I do now?_

He was sick of this. Sick of the whole Jocelyn drama, sick of not being able to see his daughter when he wanted, sick of the whole damn planet.

A faint memory stirred at the back of his mind from where he'd buried it years ago. _"See if I do actually get tired of Earth…"_

He stopped his aimless walk down an almost deserted city street, considering. "Why the hell not?" he muttered.

The next day, Leonard McCoy enlisted in Starfleet.

_Rebecca would be laughing her head off at this._

Pity he joined Starfleet seven years too late for her to ever know about it.


	2. That's a Starship

Captain James T. Kirk was having a wonderful day until the _Enterprise_'s helmsman stabbed him in the arm.

He reflected that it was probably his own fault; he shouldn't have been so cocky when Sulu challenged him to a fencing duel. Swords weren't really the Iowan captain's forte.

Dr. McCoy, of course, seemed more than happy to remind him of that.

"Just how many times can you end up in Sickbay during this five-year mission, Jim? You get injured at least ten times to every other crewmember's one! And you should've known better than to have a blasted _sword duel_ with Sulu…_he _at least knows what he's doing while you can't do much more than swing the blade around like a damn monkey…"

Kirk winced as McCoy finished examining the puncture wound and went to work with one of his medical instruments. "Well, Bones, I didn't realize that a practice sword could do that much damage."

"My God, man, anything _remotely_ pointed will do some damage if a full-grown man drops his weight onto it! I'm still trying to figure how the hell you managed that part!"

"Bones, I told you I…Ow! Watch it!...I, uh, tripped."

"Because you had no idea what you were doing in the first place. Now hold still or I'll give you a sedative!"

"And they say I'm supposed to be the captain," Jim grumbled.

"Yeah, and if it weren't for me, you'd be a dead captain."

Commander Spock chose that moment to call on the ship's comm system. "Bridge to Captain Kirk."

"Yes, what is it, Spock? Ouch! Bones, did you poke me on purpose?"

The first officer's level voice replied to Kirk's first question. "We are approaching the Quirinus system and will arrive in approximately 2.34 hours, Captain. I was wondering if you will be physically able to take command during the initial planetary surveys…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Spock. I'll be up there in a few minutes. Kirk out. Bones, can you hurry it up?"

"I'm finished. It wasn't half as bad as you deserved." But McCoy took advantage of Jim's momentary relief to jab a hypospray into his neck. "You'll thank me later."

"I highly doubt that, _Doctor,_" Jim muttered, rubbing his neck.

Dr. McCoy rolled his eyes. "You're cleared for duty, _Captain_. Now get out of here."

For the first time since he'd entered Sickbay, Kirk grinned. "See ya, Bones!" he called over his shoulder as he dashed out into the corridor.

* * *

The Quirinus planetary system consisted of a single yellow dwarf star similar to Earth's sun and seven terrestrial planets of varying sizes. Earlier long-distance scans had not yielded any obvious signs of intelligent life forms.

The _Enterprise_'s current assignment was simple: Accurately map the system and perform detailed scans and examinations of each planet. As missions went, it was fairly routine and, to Jim Kirk, held the threat of being boring.

_Oh, well, if nothing exciting turns up, I'll lead an away mission or something, _he thought to himself as he lounged on the command chair, eyeing the planets and stars visible on the Bridge's viewscreen.

"Captain, initial scans indicate that this system contains one class P planet, one class N planet, one class L planet, one class M planet, and three class K planets, as well as numerous moons and orbital asteroids. This correlates with previously collected data."

"Thank you, Mr. Spock. Sulu, put us in orbit around the nearest planet for comprehensive scans. Uhura, monitor all frequencies, just in case someone wants to be heard."

* * *

The next couple days were positively dull. No unusual messages were received and no accidents of note occurred aboard the ship itself. They finished scanning three planets...unimaginatively called Quirinus VII, VI, and V...before moving into orbit around the class M planet, Quirinus IV.

_Now, _this_ could be more exciting. _Kirk drummed his fingers against the arm of his chair; whenever they came into orbit around a new planet he took the chair, but this time he was hoping that something interesting would pop up. Class M planets were where complex life forms could thrive, and therefore where most adventures seemed to occur.

However, for the first half hour nothing more outward than an unusual concentration of supposedly-harmless radiation in the atmosphere was discovered. Kirk was just beginning to get bored when Spock started talking.

"Captain, I have been continuing long-range scans while supervising scans of the planet below, and I have discovered an considerable amount of highly fragmented debris nearby that could very possibly come from some kind of ship…I would have to collect some samples…"

"Kepten!" Ensign Chekov shouted suddenly, cutting off the First Officer's words and gaining the attention of every person on the Bridge. "Sorry, sir…But I was monitoring ze scans and there is something down on ze surface…Inwisible until now because of ze radiation in ze atmosphere…A large mass of refined metals…Ve are almost right above it, sir… "

By that point, Spock was checking the readings at his station. "The Ensign is correct, Captain. There is a substantial mass on the planet's surface roughly below our current position…quite possibly comprised of duranium."

"Like a ship's hull," Chekov pointed out.

Kirk frowned. "Spock, when you say 'quite possibly'…"

"The unusual form of radiation in the atmosphere makes it difficult for our scanners to be precise, which is why sending probes or an away team would be the most accurate way to ascertain the actual nature of this anomaly." Spock paused, then added, "This could be connected to the presence of the debris I just mentioned to you."

Kirk's mind had already built a scenario. _Ship goes down…attacked, possibly; we're not that far from Klingon space…debris is left in space, while the main body of the ship falls to the surface…we didn't detect it earlier, so if someone had come looking before they might not have found anything…_"That's it; I'm leading an away team down there. Kirk to Engineering."

"_Aye, Captain. Mr. Scott here_."

"Scotty, I'm taking an away team down to the surface of the planet we're orbiting and I need to know if this radiation that Spock and Chekov keep babbling about is going to be a problem for the transporters."

"_Just a minute, Captain, and I'll tell ye_." After a few seconds, the Scot's voice came back over the intercom, sounding slightly regretful. "_Well, Captain, it would be possible to beam somebody down. But I really wouldn't recommend it; without some complicated adjustments to the pattern buffer there would be a high level of risk…_"

"Okay, fine, we'll go by shuttle." Kirk stood up. "Sulu, I want you to be our pilot for this. Uhura, we may have need of your translation skills. Oh, you still there, Scotty?"

"_Aye, Captain?_"

"You're coming too. If there actually is some kind of starship down there, I want you to take a look at it." Kirk turned to his second-in-command. "Spock, do you think that this ship could be from the Federation?"

"Given the location, I calculate that there is approximately a 10.8% chance that the crashed vessel is of Federation origin."

"Well, we'll know more soon. Kirk to Sickbay...Bones, we're going on an away mission immediately, so grab what you need and meet me in the shuttle bay. No transporters this time. Mr. Spock, you have the conn."


	3. Discovery

"It's like bloody hot soup out here, Captain!" Scotty complained.

Kirk merely shrugged. McCoy would have made a retort himself, except the Engineering Chief had a very good point.

The blue sky had a strange purplish tinge to it while the white-hot sun beat down mercilessly on the rugged landscape. On the horizon, jagged hills comprised of orange and green rocks layered in brownish dust pointed up to the cloudless sky.

And the air itself was so warm that it was difficult to breathe.

The shuttle had landed...rather precariously...on the side of a low yet steep ridge, which was dotted with stubby trees that had long, drooping needles instead of leaves. After the away team…Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura, and two security officers…exited the craft, they spent a good five minutes trying to adjust to the burning heat.

_I hate away missions. Unpleasant things._

It wasn't that McCoy didn't like getting off the ship once in a while. And in this case it wasn't even the unpleasant temperature…_Though this planet makes Georgia look like a damn icebox…_it was the fact that on away missions, someone almost always got hurt. Or multiple people. As Chief Medical Officer, McCoy had to deal with said injured people.

_Yeah, it's my job. But the frequency of these incidents just pisses me off. _And usually the injured party was James T. Kirk.

Which was why McCoy had groaned loudly when he realized that the captain was leading the mission.

_A downed ship on a random planet in an unexplored system…What could _possibly _go wrong?_

Pity it was so damn hot out…if he could catch his breath properly he could voice his frustrations aloud.

The captain's communicator beeped. "Kirk here."

"_Captain, communications seem to be working satisfactorily_." McCoy could hear Spock speaking, though the transmission crackled with static. "_We have a tenuous lock on your position_."

"That's good an' all but no beaming us up unless ye have to!" Scotty yelled breathlessly from the other side of Kirk. "Ah don't fancy being turned into Engineer scramble anytime soon!"

McCoy thought he saw Jim roll his eyes. "Catch that, Spock?"

"_Understood, Captain. Spock out._"

McCoy took a deep breath of the dusty air and said, "So, Jim, what now?"

"Now, Bones, we find the downed ship." Kirk flourished a tricorder in McCoy's direction. "Don't look at me like that; I can actually use it."

"You sure about that?" _We should've brought the Russian kid. Or Spock…Hey, that's an idea; this heat would probably feel great to him…_

Kirk ignored him as he fiddled with the device. "Aha! It's working!"

"So, where to, Captain?" Uhura looked just as displeased as everyone else.

_Funny, _she's_ wearing less clothes than the rest of us…_That reminded McCoy to use his own tricorder to examine the members of the away team, in case they were suffering adverse effects from the so-called "harmless radiation".

By the time he had satisfied himself that everyone was in perfect health...except for sweating like horses...Kirk had finally figured out how to work the tricorder and pointed up the ridge. "The duranium readings are coming from right over this ridge…that's weird, they're kinda scattered…"

"You mean we have to go _uphill?_" Uhura said disbelievingly. Then, "Thanks a lot, Sulu."

"Hey! I was just using the general coordinates Chekov gave me…"

"Okay, okay, no need to argue!" Kirk had the nerve to look excited, despite the fact his blond hair was becoming pasted to the sides of his head with perspiration. "Sulu, Officer Lewis, stay with the shuttle. The rest of you, follow me!"

McCoy joined Uhura, Scotty, and the Security Officer Grant in sending glares at the helmsman and Officer Lewis before following the captain up the slope.

* * *

Kirk reached the crest of the hill before the rest of them did. McCoy saw him stop and stiffen, staying still for a long moment before reaching for his communicator. "Kirk to _Enterprise_. It's a Federation ship. Or at least it was." His tone was strangely detached as it drifted back to the others.

McCoy exchanged looks with Uhura, who was walking next to him. Ignoring the hot sun and their own fatigue, they quickened their pace. Stones slid from under their feet, clattering, so McCoy missed whatever Spock said in reply to Kirk's message.

Upon reaching the top of the ridge, the doctor straightened, panting, and looked across the dusty plain below.

A relatively short distance away, across a barren, flat stretch of land speckled with clumps of brush, was a collection of low, uneven hills. Practically impaled upon them were the blackened remains of what was clearly a Federation vessel, of earlier make than the Enterprise.

McCoy was no engineer, but he could see that nothing would ever allow this ship to fly again. The saucer section was buckled, almost split in half, one nacelle was missing completely and the other was decimated. "My God," he whispered.

_Could anyone survive that?_

Kirk was still speaking quietly into his communicator, describing the ship as best as he could. "No, Spock, I can't see the name…the saucer section's a burnt mess…"

"Pity," Scotty spoke from next to McCoy. His expression was morose. "She must've been a fine ship, once."

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Spock. Kirk out." Kirk snapped his communicator shut and turned to the others. "Spock's looking into seeing which ship this could be."

The youthful captain was visibly upset. _He's probably picturing the _Enterprise_ in that state, _McCoy realized. Thinking about it, that _was_ upsetting.

"Captain, look!" Uhura pointed downward. It was easy to see what she'd spotted; at the bottom of the ridge was a narrow, shallow ravine in which was built a sort of shanty town of brush and pieces of metal.

_So someone did survive. _But McCoy couldn't help but note, with growing dread, that there was no sign of movement from the makeshift shelters.

Kirk was speaking to Sulu now. "I want you to take the shuttle across the ridge…Yeah, there's this bunch of shelters…Land next to the ravine; we'll meet you there."

* * *

The journey down the ridge was quicker, but no less exhausting than the journey up. McCoy could feel his uniform literally soaking through with sweat. _We'll all die of heat stroke at this rate…_

It didn't help that at one point, the shuttle zoomed over them and landed below. Sulu and Officer Lewis stepped out, waiting for the others as they scrambled down the hill.

When they finally did reach the bottom, McCoy snapped, "Jim, before we start poking around those shelters, we're all getting some water from the supplies in the shuttle. Unless you want us all fainting out here? I'm surprised no one's dropped from dehydration already…"

"Fine, Bones, we'll get the water first. Then we're exploring those shelters."

"Okay then." _But we may not like what we find in them._

* * *

The shelters were empty.

More than that; the entire makeshift camp looked like it had been rifled through. From a distance, it hadn't been apparent, but up close, the signs of struggle were obvious.

Sheets of metal…_Probably originally ripped off the ship…_were torn off tottery supports and dumped on the ground. Crude weapons, mainly wooden spears, sharp stones, and old, dull knives were scattered around. Rags lay about, faded to gray and covered in dust.

And there was blood. Blood smears on the weapons. Splatters of blood on the ravine's orange stone walls. Pools of blood around the bodies.

There were three bodies, two men and one woman, all human. One man was underneath a stack of rough wooden posts. The other two were together, pressed up into a corner between piles of rocks, positioned as if the man had been shielding the woman with his body.

McCoy ran his tricorder over the corpses, trying not to imagine their last moments. "They've been dead a couple days at least, Jim." He wrinkled his nose. "Decomposition has already started…with this heat it's not surprising…We'll need to be careful getting them out of here."

The captain fiddled absentmindedly with his tricorder. "Yeah, we will. But there were clearly more people here…where the hell did they go?"

"Captain!" Sulu hurried over to them, Uhura close behind. The helmsman was holding a jagged-edged dagger in his hand. "It's Klingon, sir, I'm certain of it."

"So…" Kirk looked around. "A Federation starship crashes. There are survivors, and they manage on their own for a while. Then some Klingons come along, discover them and…kill them?"

"But there must have been more survivors than these three," Uhura pointed out.

"So the rest were captured." Kirk sighed heavily.

McCoy winced. _Captured by Klingons…these three here might've been the lucky ones…They were killed brutally, but quickly…_He stood, moving away from the bodies. "Their clothing is nothing more than rags, but it looks like those rags were Starfleet uniforms once. We'll have to collect DNA samples, run them against Starfleet records…" _Their faces are already decaying, too…_

"Yeah." Kirk grabbed his communicator as Scotty and the two security officers joined them. "Kirk to _Enterprise_."

"_Spock here_."

"We've found bodies, though we think there were more people here originally. There's signs of Klingon involvement. Send another shuttle down…scratch that, send two, one with a science team to look over this camp and retrieve the bodies, and another with an engineering team to take a closer look at the ship…Tell the pilots to use eyesight and common sense; it'll be more accurate than coordinate locking…"

"_Yes, Captain. I will oversee the immediate dispatch of the shuttles and alert Starfleet command of the discovery_." Pause. "_Captain, I believe that I may have found the identity of the crashed ship_."

Kirk frowned. "What did you find?"

"_The starship _U.S.S. Brigadier _was lost in this sector thirteen years ago. The ship itself was never found. Until now, perhaps._"

* * *

McCoy wondered for a moment why his stomach felt like it had been filled with lead.

Then it hit him. The _Brigadier_.

_That was Rebecca's ship._

Thankfully no one was looking at him. He had a bad feeling that his face had gone an unnatural color.

Kirk was talking to Spock and the other members of the away team, but his words didn't reach McCoy. There was some kind of buzzing in the way.

_"Leonard, guess what!"_

_"Don't make me, Rebecca, I know I'll get it wrong."_

_"I've got a post on a starship!"_

_"Already?" But she was still talking._

_"It's called the _Brigadier_...I'm only an Ensign…since I skipped so much officer training to graduate early. But I'll work my way up the ladder fast…that's what my academic advisor said…" She stopped to take a breath. "Leonard? You're not…upset, are you?"_

_"Why would I be? Congratulations, Rebecca. I know it's what you've always wanted."_

_"Thanks…I never would've made it without you…you know that, right, Len? But…you're sure it's fine…"_

_"Rebecca, I love you, but it's your life. You're happy, I'm happy, all right?"_

"Captain, is that a life form reading on your tricorder?"

Uhura's sharp question pulled McCoy abruptly out of his stupor. Noting the befuddled expression on Kirk's face, he grabbed the instrument and examined it. "You're right, Uhura, it's picking up a life form that isn't one of us…Damn this weird radiation, it's messing up the blasted tricorder range…" He peered at the readings again. "It's over there." He gestured to the narrow end of the ravine off to their left. "I think it's human." Shoving the tricorder back into Kirk's hands, he pulled out his own. "Yeah, it's definitely there."

He led the way to what appeared to be some kind of trash heap; a mess of metal bits, charred wood, and what looked like animal bones. _If someone's alive in there…we nearly missed him or her…_

The thought was sickening.

The security officers went to work, joined by Kirk and Sulu. McCoy stood back with Uhura and a decidedly drooping Scotty as the pile was dismantled and pieces of rubbish went flying in every direction. Heat and fatigue was forgotten as the four men worked towards a common goal: the freeing of whoever was trapped underneath the heap.

A couple minutes later, Kirk shouted, "Bones, we're going to need your help!" as Officer Lewis lifted a limp figure and carried it out into the open.

McCoy felt a jolt of shock run through him when he saw who it was. Or rather, what.

_It's a goddamn kid._

It was a young boy, to be exact. He looked hardly older than ten. His filthy, ragged clothing, seemingly fashioned from garments originally too big for him, hung off his skinny frame. Underneath a substantial tan, his skin had an oddly mottled appearance.

Before Officer Lewis had even lain the boy on the ground, McCoy was at work with his tricorder. He didn't really need it to make a diagnosis, though.

_Severe dehydration…heat stroke…starvation…It's a miracle the kid's still alive. _McCoy finished his examination and looked up at the captain. "Jim, we have to get him back to the ship. He's dying."

Kirk nodded. "Sulu, Uhura, Officer Grant. Go with McCoy and the kid back to the _Enterprise_. Officer Lewis, Scotty, you stay with me while we wait for the other shuttles and teams."

* * *

As the shuttle hurtled back into space, McCoy didn't have time to even consider how much he hated flying. He was too busy administering whatever first aid he could to his patient. He'd already called Sickbay and ordered them to be waiting in the shuttle bay, prepared for the situation.

"Uhura, can you come over here and make sure he doesn't move while I put in this IV?" _Not like there's much need for keeping him still…he's half dead already…still, better safe than sorry…_

"Sure." The lieutenant hurried over to assist him. "Do you think he'll be okay?" she asked when McCoy had completed the procedure.

"I hope so." McCoy checked the flow of the makeshift IV. "God knows how long he'd been under that stack of trash…I'll feel better about his chances if I can get him to Sickbay."

Uhura bit her lip. "I wonder who he is," she said . "Who his parents are."

McCoy pondered that. "They had to be among the initial survivors. There's no way this kid is old enough…He must've been born after the crash."

Uhura looked sadly down at the unmoving form. "Poor kid." She reached out and brushed a bit of the boy's shaggy brownish hair out of his face. "It's okay, you're safe now," she murmured.

McCoy hoped that she was right.


	4. Reynard

Being the kind of person he was, Dr. McCoy could never relax until he was 100% certain that whatever patient he had at the moment was going to be all right. When Jim Kirk had been revived from his untimely death, McCoy hadn't relaxed for weeks. He'd only allowed himself to loosen up once Jim woke up and began croaking questions. Then McCoy knew that it was just a matter of time before the young captain was up and about once more and he could at last get some sleep.

On the occasions when he lost a patient, the remorse usually kept him wound up for a week or more. Even after years of doing his job, McCoy found it difficult to put out of his mind the people that he couldn't save.

_Well, I'm not going to lose this one._

He'd be much happier when the kid actually woke up, but for now he felt somewhat secure in knowing that he'd done all he could and it was most likely going to be successful.

He was examining some in-depth physical scans in his office when the captain waltzed in, still sweaty and dusty from his trip to the surface. "Hey, Bones, how's our young guest?" He sounded way too jaunty for someone who had spent the last few hours poking around a ruined starship on a planet with a climate that could cause heat stroke at ten in the morning.

McCoy got the feeling that some, if not all, of the joviality was false, but decided to put that aside for now. "He'll live. I've got him on an IV for plain fluids and nutrients, and his vitals are improving slowly but steadily. He should wake up in a day or so…Though I might give him a sedative to keep him out longer if he shows signs of distress. Overall his health is surprisingly good. He had some not-good bacterial infestations that I dealt with easily enough. I'm guessing he's between ten and thirteen years old…if that's the case he's very underweight. God only knows what he's been eating on that planet his whole life…that's probably how long he's been living there…" He stood and faced Kirk. "Jim, if we'd found him an hour or so later…"

"We would've been too late," Kirk finished. They remained in silence for a moment, then the captain said, "The ship had been scavenged from, which we figured out already. And we found what looked like the remains of escape pods...That's how some people got off the ship. I don't think anyone left inside made it. And the ones who got out…"

McCoy shifted uneasily. "How many?"

"By our estimates, no more than forty, probably less." Every trace of humor had vanished from Kirk's voice.

_He's probably imagining his own damn ship and crew in that situation again. _"Do you know how large the crew was?"

"The crew compliment of the _Brigadier_ was five hundred and eighty at the time of its disappearance," Spock informed them coolly as he entered the room. "Captain, a team has retrieved the bodies and any objects of note, mainly personal belongings from the survivors' camp. Mr. Scott and his team are still examining the ship for clues pertaining to its demise. Doctor, you will be expected to examine the bodies and…"

"Yes, Spock, I know the specifics of my job without you telling me," McCoy growled.

"And the human child?"

"He'll make it." McCoy glanced through the glass window of his office towards the main part of Sickbay. The biobed where the boy lay unconscious was closed off by curtains. _How long was he under that garbage heap? Did he get under it by himself or did someone put him there?_

Spock had started speaking again. "Captain, while going through records, I discovered that the_ Brigadier_ was not supposed to be passing through this system on its scouting mission. But since the wreckage of the ship shows signs of battle damage, it is highly probable that a conflict with another ship or ships drove it off course, resulting in the crash on Quirinus IV."

"Yeah, but who shot at them? The Klingons?" McCoy demanded.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "A logical conclusion, Doctor, as we are relatively close to Klingon space."

"That makes sense…Spock, what exactly do Starfleet records say about the loss of the _Brigadier_?" Kirk asked.

"Starfleet command received a message from the ship informing them of an attack, followed quickly by distress transmissions that were abruptly cut off. A search attempt was made, but nothing was found besides minimal debris. The altered course would explain this oversight by the search vessel."

"Oversight my ass," McCoy snarled.

He saw the confused look Kirk was giving him, but he didn't care.

_Maybe forty people made it…forty out of almost six hundred. _He didn't do the more involved math and didn't want to.

He already knew that the odds that Rebecca was still alive were incredibly slim.

_No, I can't even allow myself to hope._

"Bones? Hey, Bones, are you okay?"

McCoy shook himself. "Yeah, I'm fine, Jim." His next words escaped him before he thought better of it. "I knew someone on that ship, that's all."

He wanted to hit himself for that. _Why the hell did you say that? Now Jim will never let it rest…_

Kirk's eyes widened and Spock's barely noticeable "this is actually unexpected" expression made an appearance. "You knew someone from the crew of the _Brigadier_?" the captain said.

"An old friend." McCoy shrugged and turned away from the others. "Spare me the mathematical probability of…of that person's survival, Spock. I'm not in the mood to hear it."

"If this person was truly a friend of yours, I daresay you have already calculated the odds yourself, Doctor." 

McCoy resisted the urge to throw his PADD at the half-Vulcan's head. "Are you two done in here? Because apparently I have bodies to examine. Again." He glared at the captain and first officer, almost daring them to say anything else.

Spock raised his eyebrow once more, pivoted on his heel, and strode out of Sickbay.

The captain lingered as McCoy collected the necessary instruments for a post-mortem examination. "Hey, Bones…"

"Jim, I don't want to hear it." _I just want to be alone. Or to get a drink. Both would be nice._

"Um…I just wanted to say…I'm sorry about your friend, whoever he was. And...keep me informed of the kid's condition."

McCoy didn't respond and Kirk left the room.

* * *

The doctor spent a good three hours in the icy cold of the holding room, examining the bodies more thoroughly. Despite the decomposition, he was able to ascertain that all three had died from multiple phaser and stab wounds. But that had been a given already.

_God, I hate this._

While examining the woman, he'd momentarily considered the sickening thought of doing the same with Rebecca's body. After that it was a struggle to move the image from the forefront of his mind. He reminded himself several times that this woman most certainly wasn't Rebecca. For one thing, she was a blond. For another, she was a good ten centimeters taller than Rebecca had been. It didn't help much.

He made it through the task and left the holding room only to be confronted with the news that they'd found more human remains…an entire graveyard of crewmembers' skeletons buried about a half-mile away from the camp.

"Goddamnit!" he bellowed, terrifying the unlucky ensign who had brought him the message. "This has been one hell of a day already and now it's just going to get fifty times worse!"

* * *

"_Sickbay to McCoy_."

McCoy rolled over and checked his clock. _0600 hours. _"Shit!"

"_Er_…_Is there a problem, Doctor?_" The nurse…_Nurse Hill by the sound of it_…sounded anxious.

_Besides going to bed at midnight after spending eight hours scanning, sorting and bagging one hundred and eight skeletons?_ He'd had help from the other medical staff this time, but…it hadn't been pleasant. More like a nightmare. "No, I'm fine. What's going on?"

"_The boy is regaining consciousness. You wanted to be notified…?"_

"Yeah, I remember." _Hell of a time he picked to wake up, goddamnit. _McCoy swung his legs out of bed to discover that he had gone to sleep in his uniform. "Is he panicking?" he asked as he hunted for his boots.

"_No, but he's very groggy and confused._"

"Okay, keep an eye on him; I'll be there in a couple minutes. Oh, and notify the captain for me, will you?"

Upon arriving in Sickbay, Dr. McCoy found the young patient surrounded by no less than six nurses, all of whom were either running medical scanners over the child or simply fussing over him. They'd pulled back the curtains around the biobed and had managed to get him sitting upright, but his shoulders were slumped and his gaze was unfocused.

"Oh, for God's sake give him room to breathe!" McCoy snapped, causing the nurses to scatter with a mix of apologetic and alarmed expressions. He grabbed a scanner from one of them and approached the boy, who blinked confusedly at him. He appeared to be growing more alert by the second. "Hey, kid, I'm just going to examine you myself. Just stay calm and you'll be fine, okay?"

All he got in response was a blank stare. He shrugged and continued with the scans.

He had almost finished when Captain Kirk stumbled in, looking half-asleep. Spock followed him, just as straight-backed and impeccable as always.

"About time you two got here," McCoy grumbled, glowering at the two senior officers.

"Morning, Bones," Kirk yawned. "So the kid's awake, then?"

"I've got a name," a faint, raspy voice sounded from the biobed.

They whipped around. The boy had woken up completely and was eyeing them warily.

McCoy managed to speak first. "Well, then, what is it?"

The kid frowned and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. "It's Reynard. I'm thirsty. And it's…it's cold. Where am I?"


	5. Questions and Answers

The first thing Kirk said in response was, "It's not _that _cold in here."

"Actually, Captain, the boy's initial reaction to the ship's standard temperature is not unlike my own when I first boarded the _Enterprise,_" Spock remarked. "Since he has been living on a planet with an unusually warm climate, in his perspective the indoor air temperature aboard this vessel must seem very cold indeed."

"So basically he's a human Vulcan," McCoy said sarcastically.

Up went the eyebrow. "That statement makes no logical sense, Doctor. Considering that it is by definition a form of an oxymoron…"

"Whatever. I don't really care, Spock." McCoy sighed. "Nurse Hill, get Reynard here a glass of water." The woman lingering in the background hurried to do so.

Reynard looked relieved that one of his concerns had been addressed, but asked again, "You said we're on a ship? Like a starship?" His voice cracked at the end of the sentence, whether from a dry throat or something else it was hard to say.

The captain finally got his act together and answered, "Yes, we're aboard a starship. I'm Captain James T. Kirk and this vessel we're on is the _U.S.S. Enterprise_."

_Poor kid doesn't look quite sure what to make of that, _McCoy thought to himself as Nurse Hill returned with some water for the patient. "Take small sips at first," he cautioned. Reynard nodded and complied, though he didn't look happy about it.

Once the boy had taken a few mouthfuls of water and swallowed, he lowered the cup, twisting it back and forth between his palms. "Do you know where my mom is?" 

_Oh, shit, who's going to answer that?_

To McCoy's surprise, the captain did. In a much gentler voice than usual, Jim said, "I'm sorry, Reynard…but we don't know where your mom is. We just found you and…You were the only person we found on the planet. When did you last see your mother?"

Reynard dropped his gaze, his dark hazel eyes suspiciously bright. "When she buried me under the trash heap. The camp was being attacked, and she…" He stopped abruptly, his face going slightly green.

McCoy lunged forward, grabbed the water glass with one hand and an empty metal pan from a nearby shelf with the other. He hardly had time to shove the pan in front of Reynard before the kid started vomiting.

_So his mom shoved him under a pile of garbage. Cruel, maybe, but it probably saved his life during the Klingon attack._

Setting the cup down, the doctor sat on the edge of the biobed, still holding the pan. There wasn't really anything besides the water in Reynard's stomach, but he kept gagging for at least two minutes. McCoy gently rubbed the boy's back while shooting glares at Kirk and Spock. "Maybe this little interrogation session can wait a while?"

The captain shrugged. "Okay, sure."

"Captain, may I remind you that this child may know vital information pertaining to…"

"Come on, Spock, do you really think that we're going to get anything out of him while he's like this?"

"Jim's right this time, Spock, so unless you've got another reason to be in here you might as well clear out. The patient should get more rest before you ask him any more questions. I'll let you know when he's ready to talk," McCoy snapped.

Judging by the look on the captain's face, it had come out harsher than usual. And Spock was raising his eyebrow _yet again_.

Moments after the captain and first officer left Sickbay, Reynard finally stopped gagging and sat back, shaking. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay." McCoy stood and put the pan aside. "I wanted to avoid giving you too many drugs since I don't know what you might be allergic to, but I'm going to give you a hypo for nausea so maybe you can keep something in your stomach for longer than a few seconds." He located the proper medicine and prepared the hypospray. "This will sting a bit no matter what, but it'll hurt a lot worse if you move."

Reynard obligingly held still while McCoy administered the hypo. "That wasn't bad. Bites from rock lizards are worse."

"Bites from…what now?"

"Rock lizards…that's what everyone calls…called them. They have really sharp teeth…but they taste good."

_So now I know one thing that they ate down there: _lizards_. Good God. _"Why don't you try drinking a little more water…see what happens."

Reynard accepted the water again and took a careful sip. "Was that a Vulcan? The man with the pointed ears?"

"Yeah…" _Just how much did this kid learn from the other survivors, I wonder? _"Actually he's half-Vulcan, but it takes a lot for him to admit that. He's also the first officer of the _Enterprise_."

Reynard drank some more water. "So Captain Kirk and…Spock, right? But I didn't catch your name."

"Leonard McCoy. I'm the Chief Medical Officer. How's your stomach?"

"Better. I'm tired, though. Didn't I just wake up?"

"Yes, but you nearly died of a combination of heat stroke and dehydration only a day ago. Your body will be trying to recover for a while. Have you had enough water?"

Reynard nodded, his eyelids drooping. McCoy retrieved the water glass and watched as the boy flopped down on his back, eyes sliding shut. _He's not going to need a sedative._

Like most people, the kid looked a lot younger than he was while asleep. The doctor suddenly felt a surge of protectiveness towards the child.

_Parental instinct, I suppose. Since I've got a kid of my own…and he's all by himself now; who knows what happened to his mom…_

Something told him that the female body found at the camp was not this boy's mother. Hopefully that was the truth.

_I guess I should run a DNA comparison, just to be sure…_

They'd taken samples from all the remains uncovered on the planet. The scans were now being run against Starfleet records. Due to the enormity of Starfleet enlistment records, it was taking some time, though of course they could pretty much narrow the search down to the _Brigadier'_s crew. Still, only a couple matches had come through so far.

McCoy checked the readouts to make sure Reynard was really asleep before heading to his office. He had a figurative mountain of paperwork waiting for him.

* * *

Kirk hadn't gotten much sleep the night after the _Brigadier_ had been discovered. Seeing a ruined starship dredged up too many disturbing memories.

So he'd spent most of the night tossing and turning in his bed, thinking.

The mostly likely cause of the _Brigadier_'s crash was, of course, an attack by Klingons or another hostile force capable of space flight.

_If Klingons did attack the _Brigadier_, why did it take them thirteen years to find the survivors? Maybe a different group of Klingons?_

Obviously Klingons had captured most of the survivors from the crash no more than a few days previously.

_If we'd got to this system a few days sooner, we could've rescued them all, not just the kid. Or we could've gotten pulled into a battle with a bunch of Klingons…that wouldn't be good…_

The science team had discovered underground water sources near the camp, as well as various plants that were edible. These were most likely what the remainder of the _Brigadier_'s crew had used as a food source. And they'd hunted some animals; the planet's surface was inhabited by a variety of crawling insects, small reptilians, and a couple species of gazelle-like creatures.

_They made it for thirteen years, living off what they could find on a strange planet, probably hoping against hope for rescue…that never came._

And Bones was in one hell of a bad mood.

_He said he had an old friend aboard the _Brigadier_…_

He'd seemed really pissed about letting the fact slip.

_I wonder if his old friend's body was one of the ones he examined today…_

Oddly enough, McCoy had never mentioned having any "old friends" in Starfleet.

It was only after Bones had kicked Kirk and Spock out of Sickbay and they had gone to the Bridge that the captain remembered something McCoy had said once. Well, yelled, rather.

_"I suffer from aviophobia! It means fear of dying in something that flies!"_

_Could that have anything to do with losing his friend? Or has Bones always hated flying?_

"Thirteen years ago Bones would've still been in medical school…maybe just graduated."

"Excuse me, Captain, did you say something?"

Kirk spun around in his chair. "No, Spock, sorry. I was just thinking out loud."

_I'll ask Bones next time I get a chance._

It was an unsolved mystery to him, and Jim Kirk didn't like unsolved mysteries.

* * *

"So, how many people were down there altogether?" Kirk questioned.

"Including me? Thirty-five. There were thirty-eight, but three died...Diego…um…and…I don't really remember the other two."

Around 1700 hours, after receiving permission from a still-irate CMO, Kirk and Spock had returned to Sickbay to talk with Reynard. They stood at the end of the boy's biobed, while Uhura, who had requested permission to join them, perched on the side of it.

All they had learned so far was that he knew quite a bit about the Federation and Starfleet, he'd turned twelve a several months ago, and he knew most of the people he had lived with only by their first names.

_Which will make identifying who survived a little more tricky. Maybe we'll wait on that; we may still find them ourselves._

Spock asked the next question. "Under what conditions did the attack occur on the camp?"

Reynard took a moment to consider. "I was getting water with Evan…from the nearest cave, you know…and we heard a lot of shouting…The Klingons…They'd landed by the ship, and they were coming towards the camp…I don't remember much after that, except that everyone was running around yelling and Mom made me get into the trash heap and threw a bunch of stuff over me…" He hesitated. "She told me not to move until I couldn't hear anymore fighting. And then there was all this screaming and shouting and shooting…I could hear it all, and then there was nothing…I waited and waited, but I was too scared to get out even when it got quiet…then I fell asleep and then everything's a blur. It was too hot; I should've dug my way out before I was too weak to." Once again he was avoiding eye contact.

Uhura put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Reynard stiffened momentarily, then relaxed into her touch.

Dr. McCoy came out of his office where he'd been working and said, "Jim, Spock, I need to talk to you."

As they followed him into his office, Kirk heard Uhura say, "We'll be right back, Reynard," before she joined them in the next room. McCoy didn't object to her presence, so the captain decided to let her stay. "What's going on, Bones?"

The doctor looked more tense and exhausted than ever. _He's been on a sort of downhill slide ever since we discovered that ship, _Jim realized_._

"Sixty-seven," McCoy said.

Confused, Kirk demanded, "What?"

"I believe Dr. McCoy may be referring to the number of DNA matches between remains found on the planet's surface and Starfleet records. Am I correct, Doctor?"

"Yes, Spock, you are." McCoy leaned heavily on his desk. "Sixty-seven of those corpses finally have names. Thirty-three women and thirty-four men. Two were alien."

There was a long moment of silence. Eventually, Uhura spoke, "At least their families will have some real closure at last."

"Yeah, but what about the others? The bodies we didn't find? That we'll never find? The once-survivors who are probably dead now that we can't name for certain because all we have to go on is the word of a child who…" McCoy halted mid-sentence, took a deep breath, and said more calmly, "We've got about forty left…Still, it's a start, I guess."

Kirk watched his friend carefully, but a stony mask had settled over the doctor's face. "Are you running the kid's DNA too?"

"Yes, but all I can say for sure right now is that they female body we found at the camp is _not_ his mother. If his mom was one of the crew…which it seems she was…we'll get a partial match."

"Perhaps we shall also discover who Reynard's father is, assuming that he was also in Starfleet," Spock added. "It is possible that his father was a member of the Brigiadier's crew as well."

"Why don't we ask him?" The three men turned to stare at the communications officer, who shrugged and continued, "Maybe his mom told him about his dad."

Kirk led the way back out to the biobed where Reynard sat, his expression curious. "What's going on?"

Uhura resumed her seat beside the boy and said gently, "We were just wondering if your mom ever mentioned your father?"

Reynard gave her a very skeptical glance, but replied, "Yes, she did. She talked about him a lot."

Kirk said, "Was he a crewmember aboard the _Brigadier_ like your mother?"

For the first time since he'd boarded the ship, Reynard actually smiled. "No, he wasn't even in Starfleet."

_Well, there goes the "get a DNA match on both parents" plan. _Judging by the sigh Kirk heard from his left, Bones had similar thoughts.

The captain glanced at his first officer. "Is there anything else we should ask him?"

"At present, Captain, I doubt that further investigation in this direction is warranted."

One of the nurses showed up then with a set of clothes Dr. McCoy had apparently requested for Reynard; the boy had said that he was uncomfortable in his hospital gown. Though someone had turned up the heat in Sickbay at some point.

While Reynard was getting changed, Uhura asked him through the curtains, "Reynard, are you getting hungry?"

"Um…a bit."

Uhura turned to McCoy. "Do you think he's okay eating regular food?"

The doctor shrugged. "He's going to have to eat at some point, and he hasn't thrown up again in response to fluids…I'd say he's fine to eat a little."

Uhura smiled. "I'll bring him something from the mess hall, then. If that's okay?"

"Yeah, I, uh…I'll make you a list of things you can bring for him to try," McCoy said vaguely.

Spock took leave of them, leaving Kirk to watch his CMO fumbling over a list with Uhura. The distracted way he saw the doctor was speaking and writing made his gut churn.

_Bones, what the hell is wrong with you?_

Of course he had to get called up to the Bridge before he could ask.

* * *

Dr. McCoy slumped in his desk chair, head in his hands. Even without looking, he knew that the screen in front of him was still running through names.

_Just a few more and we'll be able to tell one hundred and eleven families that their loved ones are most certainly dead._

It was late, around 2300 hours, but tonight he couldn't bring himself to leave his work. He'd only feel comfortable…or some semblance of such…when he'd sorted out all the names.

_So damn many…_

It reminded him, painfully, of all the cadets killed aboard the other ships during the battle with the mad future-Romulan Nero. Hundreds of young lives lost, only a short time before billions perished on Vulcan when the planet was destroyed.

But then it hadn't been McCoy's job to sort through bodies. Hell, there _hadn't_ been any bodies; the black hole had taken almost everything.

The only good part of the night was the fact that Reynard had managed to consume a decent meal without throwing anything up. Plus he hadn't shown any sign of allergic reactions...a relief to anyone who had ever had to treat Jim Kirk for allergies. McCoy had watched the kid the whole time he was eating...though he was pretty sure that it annoyed the boy at least a little. Uhura had been there too; Reynard seemed to like her all right. Now she'd returned to her quarters and he was asleep again.

_If _I_ tried to go to sleep right now, I'd have to give myself a sedative._

Going through the skeletons the night before had been horrific. Most were "clean" enough, though several hadn't decomposed completely. In those cases, more than one person involved in the examinations had had to leave for a few minutes. But that hadn't been the hardest part for McCoy.

Every single time he had come across a female body, he'd thought, _Is _this_ Rebecca? _Every time, his heart pounded frantically until he came across something that told him that it wasn't her...different body build, evidence of an old injury. He'd kept up a stolid facade, willing himself to get through the damn mess as quickly as possible.

He hadn't found her.

_She was probably one of the ones blown to bits or sucked out to space…lost forever._

Although he'd half expected it, it still hurt, knowing that he might never find what was left of her.

A pinging sound from the computer screen told him that another match had been found. Slowly, he lifted his up and took a look at it.

All lethargy disappeared when saw who it was for.

_The kid…_

He quickly checked over the new information, only becoming more confused at first. _Two partial matches? One for each parent? From Starfleet records? But Reynard said his dad wasn't in Starfleet…_

His gaze found the mother's name first. He froze.

_Brandon, Rebecca H._

For a long moment, it just wouldn't compute.

_Rebecca couldn't have…she wouldn't…_

Then he looked at the father's name.

_Oh, God._


	6. Disbelief

Normally, Captain Kirk wouldn't have minded being awoken by the voice of a young female nurse...only, he preferred it if said nurse was in his bed with him.

This one was speaking to him via intercom. "_Sickbay to Captain Kirk_."

He groaned as he shifted around, barely awake. "Yeah…I'm here."

"_Captain Kirk, this is Nurse Howard on the night shift. There's…we have a situation.."_

At the word "situation", Kirk sat upright, weariness forgotten. "Situation? Is something wrong with Reynard?"

"_No, the boy's fine, sir. It's…it's Dr. McCoy. He's acting strange…He's locked himself in his office and we keep hearing him swearing and throwing things…We don't have an override code for the door and we aren't sure if we should call security…_"

"Hold off on the security. I'm on my way."

_Damn, I knew I should've talked to him yesterday…_But after listening to an hour-long report from Scotty and the engineering team on the wreckage of the _Brigadier_, all Kirk had wanted to do was eat dinner and go to bed.

Consequently, he'd neglected to talk to McCoy about his recent behavior. Now he wished that he had skipped dinner or put off sleeping in order to do so.

In Sickbay he found several nurses hovering around, whispering to each other and looking anxious while Reynard peered out from between the curtains around his bed. "Hello, Captain," the boy said.

"Hey. Do you know what's going on?"

Reynard shook his head. "I just woke up. Because…" A slamming noise from inside the CMO's office cut him off. He winced. "Because of that."

The captain turned to the closest nurse. "When did he start…" He paused to listen to a brief, muffled stream of profanity that came through the locked door. "Uh, when did he lock himself in there?"

"We're not sure…I think he said he was going to be working in his office for a while…Then, about ten minutes ago?" The nurse looked over at one of her companions, who nodded in agreement. "About ten minutes ago we heard him swearing…That's not, um…that's not actually unusual, so we tried to ignore it…Then we heard him throwing things around the room…and he dimmed the window so we can't see inside…We tried talking to him and then opening the door when he didn't answer…That's when we found out that the door was locked."

Kirk didn't respond right away as he considered possible courses of action. It only took him a minute to decide. Striding over to the door, he hit the buzzer. "Dr. McCoy, this is the captain. Open the door." The sound of someone kicking something..._His desk, maybe?…_stopped abruptly. After a long pause, Kirk spoke again, "Bones, it's me, Jim. I hate to do this, but if you don't open this door in thirty seconds I'm using my override code to unlock it." Roughly twenty of those seconds ticked away before Kirk said, angrily, "Come on, Bones, open the damn door!"

The door slid open so fast that Jim took a step back, startled.

McCoy's face was almost blank, his emotion only showing in his clenched jaw. He glared at the captain, who refused to back down. Then the doctor muttered, "Since you're here, you might as well come in, Captain." He looked at the ground as he said it, then stood aside for Kirk to enter.

Just before he went into the office, Kirk looked over his shoulder at the assembled nurses. "If I don't come out in a half an hour, call First Officer Spock." _If Bones actually does go crazy and tries to murder me, Spock can come in and nerve-pinch him._

Naturally, McCoy just had to lock the door behind them both.

_Oh, well, Spock has his own set of override codes._

The room was a mess, unsurprisingly. Hyposprays, PADDs, sample vials…pretty much everything was usually put away neatly was scattered around on the floor. The doctor's chair was overturned, while the computer on his desk remained seemingly untouched. There was some information displayed on the screen, but Jim ignored it and concentrated on the other man. "Bones, what the hell is going on? Are you…I don't know, having a mental breakdown or something?"

McCoy braced one hand against the nearest wall and leaned into it, shoulders slumping. "No, Jim, I'm just reacting to some…unexpected news." His words came out in a monotone.

"What 'unexpected news'?"

McCoy took a while to answer. "I know who the kid's parents are."

_Shouldn't that be good news? _"Okay, so who are they?"

The doctor opened his mouth, then hesitated. "Just…just look at the damn computer, Jim."

Frowning, the captain moved over to the desk and glanced at the screen. "Bones, I don't see what…His mom's labeled as an former ensign on the _Brigadier _and his dad…" He stopped, stunned by what he saw. "Oh, my God."

Turning around, he stared at his friend. "Bones, what…what is going on here?"

Not looking at him, McCoy murmured, "Do you remember the 'old friend' I mentioned?"

_Yeah, I sure do. _The first question that popped into Kirk's head was less than tactful. He voiced it anyway. "Bones, why didn't you tell me that your friend was a…a _woman_?"

For the first time since the conversation had started, McCoy sounded like his normal self as he said, "Maybe because I know exactly where your dirty mind would go with that information."

Jim had to laugh. "Yeah, but this time I'd have been right."

"Yes, you would have." McCoy moved away from the wall, righted his chair, and sat down on it.

Kirk settled on the edge of the desk. "Who was she?" 

"What I said: an old friend. And…and a hell of a lot more than that." McCoy sighed. "We were friends for years before she joined Starfleet. I think we were best friends…While she was in the Academy…I'd known that I had feelings for her, but we…we 'took it to the next level', during her time at the Academy. She was an early graduate…she was damn brilliant, to be honest…then she got that posting on the _Brigadier_. About a year later…someone from Starfleet called me to inform me that she, and the rest of the crew, had been lost along with the ship." McCoy shut his eyes for a moment. "I found out that she'd put me down as her next of kin on her records…I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise. She didn't have siblings, she couldn't remember her mom and her dad was an asshole."

Jim shifted uncomfortably. "So…she was your girlfriend, and, uh, you…" He trailed off.

"I got her pregnant." McCoy snorted. "She had a damn contraceptive implant. Not that they always work properly…"

"Well…" Kirk paused. "So, uh…Reynard's your son."

"God, that's weird." McCoy stared blankly at nothing as he continued, "She didn't want kids. The very few times we discussed that kind of thing, she claimed that she'd be a terrible mother."

"Were you two…_planning_ any permanent commitments?" _Is this really the right time to be asking these questions? Whatever, it's all got to come out some time._

"Not exactly…I think we both took it for granted that we'd end up together permanently in the end…There just wasn't any reason to think otherwise. But, no, not really. She was starting her career, I was finishing medical school…" McCoy rested his head in his hand. "Having a kid when she was twenty-one would have ruined her career. That's the way she saw it."

"She might've stayed with you, though," Jim pointed out. "That is, if you'd….accepted responsibility."

"I would have." McCoy lifted his head again, looking up at Jim. "But that would've just chained her down; I never wanted that. I didn't like her career…but I never would've asked her to give up Starfleet for me."

Kirk nodded slowly. "And children might've forced her to choose to leave Starfleet."

"Precisely." McCoy lowered his gaze. "But what's the point of debating it? That didn't happen. What happened was that she ended up marooned on a random planet in the middle of nowhere for _thirteen goddamn years_. And now she'd probably dead, murdered by Klingons, leaving me with _my_ child who I never knew she had…" He stopped to take a few shuddering breaths.

_He had to look through over a hundred bodies, most likely wondering the whole time if his former lover's was among them, and then he finds out that not only did she survive, she gave birth to his kid. That's…really messed up._

Saying so aloud probably wouldn't help.

"Bones, is there anything you want me to do?"

"No, thank you, Jim. Except…Go to bed, will you? You look exhausted and it's…Damn it, it's after midnight!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" Jim stood up and stepped towards the door. "Wait…what about you?"

McCoy looked around blearily. "I'll stay and clean this mess up. I don't feel like sleeping. And, uh…can we keep this between the two of us right now? At least for tonight?"

The unspoken _I couldn't stand anyone's pity or the Vulcan's analytical views on the subject right now _was understood. "Sure," Kirk replied. Then, "Will you be alright?"

McCoy sighed again, then said very softly, "You know, Jim, I'd be a hell of a lot better if I knew where Rebecca was."

* * *

_There is something to be said for anger._

Anger could keep you going when hope had disappeared.

She'd never been a particularly aggressive person. If she had, maybe she would've left her dad's house sooner. Maybe she would've hit him back sooner.

_Maybe I would've just called the police like Leonard wanted me to._

Still, you had to have a certain amount of aggression to be a leader.

Once, she had wanted to be a leader of sorts. _A command. A ship. A crew. _Those had been her desires.

She'd received over a decade on an uninhabited planet, tenuous leadership over a group of less than forty people, and a son who had his father's eyes.

_I don't want to be the leader anymore…_

It was pure happenstance that had brought it about in the first place. Somehow, amongst the turmoil of battle, she'd been given a field promotion by a captain who had lost most of his command crew. Somehow, later, while the ship cracked and split at the seams, spinning off course into oblivion, she'd been the last officer standing. She'd been the one to give the order that should have been given far earlier, the dreaded order of "_abandon ship_".

Statistically, it hadn't made much of a difference. Only a tiny percentage of the crew survived.

Those remaining had managed to stay alive for thirteen years.

_And now it ends like this._

They probably weren't going to get out of here. Klingon's were notoriously good at guarding their prisoners. _Until they kill them_.

As the "captain", she had to accept that.

There was still the faint hope that her son would make it. He had been hidden and not found. But there was nothing she could do about it now.

Except keep herself and her companions alive a little longer.

_To achieve that, Rebecca Brandon, you have to stay angry._

At this point, it wouldn't be too difficult.


	7. Knowing

The door buzzer caused Dr. McCoy to jolt awake.

_Oh, shit, I must've dozed off._

Running a hand over his face and straightening in his chair, he called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Lieutenant Uhura, Dr. McCoy. Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure." _Thankfully I managed to clean up the damn mess before I fell asleep._

The lieutenant walked in, frowning slightly. "One of the nurses told me you'd been in here all night?"

McCoy made a conscious effort to appear more alert than he felt. "Yeah…I had stuff to do." His gaze fell on the computer screen before him. "We've finally got a complete identification list of the bodies we found."

"Oh." Uhura face fell.

"Well, at least this part of the job is over." McCoy stood, wincing as his back cracked. "Damn it. So why are you in here, Lieutenant?"

"I'm off duty this morning, so I came by to ask if I could take Reynard down to the mess hall for breakfast. Or should I bring something for him again?"

_Reynard. _Something he was going to have to deal with sooner or later. "Is he awake already?"

"Mm-hmm. I think he's getting dressed, but he said hello when I went by."

The doctor thought about it for a minute. "Sure, you can take him to get breakfast; just make sure he doesn't eat too much too fast…I still don't trust his stomach to handle it. Any sign of him getting sick, bring him back here."

"Will do." Uhura hesitated. "Are you okay, Doctor?"

_No, I'm not but I'm definitely not going to tell you that. _"I'm fine, Uhura. I need to get this list organized and sent along to Starfleet."

"Okay, see you later."

"Yeah." He slumped back down into his chair as she left.

He wanted to go to his quarters and get a drink. Scratch that, he wanted to go to his quarters and _get drunk_.

However, it would be irresponsible to do so while he was technically on duty.

He'd considered it the night before, too. What dissuaded him was the fact that he'd have to walk past Reynard to get out of Sickbay. In the end, he'd settled for trashing his office and utilizing every curse word in his vocabulary.

He still wasn't sure if he'd been cursing at himself or at Rebecca.

_That isn't fair, damn it. She had it far worse than I did._

He'd found reasons to keep going after her "death". Sure, his life hadn't been perfect, but when Jocelyn wasn't making daily life more difficult than necessary and insane criminals weren't trying to destroy the Federation and his friends weren't nearly getting themselves killed, it wasn't all that bad. He had Joanna...he didn't get to see her enough, but he knew she was doing well...he had a decent job...Chief Medical Officer, U.S.S. Enterprise...he had a purpose...saving lives...and yes, he had friends...namely a reckless captain and his green-blooded first officer.

Though McCoy wasn't entirely sure how the latter had switched from the "loyal opposition" to "friend" category. Maybe because Spock was at least dependable.

That aside…_I had a relatively decent life, despite all the idiocy and danger. What did Rebecca have, besides futile hope and perhaps not even that?_

The answer was cruel, in a twisted way.

_She had Reynard._

McCoy had spent enough time with his daughter to know that raising children wasn't easy under normal circumstances.

He could only imagine how Rebecca had struggled to keep her…_their _son alive.

_It's so damned unfair._

What was also unfair was how...when he let his thoughts drift from Rebecca...he kept catching himself comparing Reynard to Joanna, comparing the lively, temperamental seven-year-old with the serious, almost-teenage boy who talked like an adult because he'd never seen another kid in his entire life.

_This whole situation is just so goddamn wrong._

This wasn't the way things should be.

_"So, how's life aboard that starship of yours?"_

_"First off, it's hardly _my_ starship, and secondly, it has a name."_

_"Right, right…the _Brigadier_. And it probably will be_ your_ starship someday."_

What he'd told Jim had been true…he would have never asked her to leave Starfleet for him. Destroying her dreams would never have been worth having her close and safe at all times. She should be a captain now, or at least a high-ranking officer in the fleet.

_"Hi, Leonard, it's me. I guess you're not around to answer me…Um, I just wanted to say hello and that I'm close enough to Earth that you can give me a call if you like…"_

_"Rebecca, I'm here."_

_"Uh-oh… I know that tone of voice. What did I do?"_

_"Were you in the Andorian system during that terrorist attack last week?"_

_"Well…"_

_"Were you?"_

_"Okay, I was! But nothing happened on the _Brigadier_, I swear. We only assisted in security sweeps. Look it up if you don't believe me!"_

_"Fine, I believe you. Just…next time something like that happens…"_

_"I'll send you a message right away. I promise."_

_"I'll accept that."_

_"So how are you on Earth? Playing it safe?"_

_"Rebecca…Look, I was worried about you…"_

_"I know, Len. I know, and I'm sorry."_

Fortunately, they hadn't had many conversations of that kind. The _Brigadier _hadn't been in serious peril too many times during Rebecca's first…and only…year of service aboard it.

_Until it got blown up by Klingons._

For him, worry was normal. Just ask any crewmember aboard the _Enterprise_; he worried all the time about everyone and everything, and loudly proclaimed the fact more often than not. That's what happened when you were paranoid by nature.

His concern for Rebecca had been almost overwhelming at times whenever she was off-planet.

Maybe that was why he had been able to put the loss behind him all those years ago. Because knowing she was gone, knowing that nothing more could happen to her, had been easier than worrying about her safety in life.

_Seems awful, but true._

When she was off in space, he had to tell himself that she would be fine; that she was strong and could take care of herself. Whenever she came back, he tried to protect her in every way he could, if merely by sending glares at any other man who dared look at her sideways.

Usually she'd roll her eyes when she caught him being "overprotective" and tell him that it was really sweet of him, but she could take care of herself.

He'd tell her fine, sure she could, but he wanted to be there in case she couldn't. Actually, he had always trusted her…she had her blind spots, like anybody, but she was generally a very trustworthy person.

But he cared about her, and therefore he worried.

Her "death" had freed him, however horribly, from whatever responsibility he had felt towards her. Or so he had thought; bring Reynard into the picture and he should've had a hell of a lot more responsibility to deal with.

He had tried to accept what had happened and to forget. Hell, he had _wanted_ to forget, because remembering hurt.

Now he knew the truth about what had happened to her.

And knowing it was a thousand times worse when he didn't know how all this would end.

* * *

"Ah tell ye, Captain, he may 'ave been raised in a bloody tent, but he's a clever one!"

"More like a lean-to, Scotty…but I get your point." The captain watched the communications officer and their young guest leave the area, chatting about engines and whatnot.

Jim Kirk had been surprised to find Reynard in Engineering when he'd gone down there for a routine inspection, but had come to learn that Uhura had gotten permission from McCoy to take the boy on a tour of the ship that morning after breakfast.

"Did ye know he can read an' write, too?"

"He can?" He didn't recall knowing either way. "I haven't even thought about it, to be honest."

"Well, he can. Isn't that right, Keenser?" From beside to a nearby computer consol, the diminutive Roylan nodded solemnly. Scotty added, "He proved it too us. Says his mum taught him. An' apparently a former Engineering officer from the _Brigadier_ taught him a thing or two about warp engines, as well. Only theory, of course; they wouldn't let him climb around what was left of that ship."

_So his mother managed to teach him to read…Must've written on the rocks or something…I wonder if she taught him math, too? _"Seems like you two had a nice conversation."

"Oh, aye, I like the lad. As I said, he's damn clever. Asked questions and seemed to understand what I told him about engine output."

Kirk smiled. "Well, Mr. Scott, everything seems in order down here. We're leaving orbit fairly soon to continue scanning this system. Let me know if anything happens to the engines."

"Nothing to worry about, Captain, she's purring like a kitten right now."

Kirk nodded and left Engineering, headed for the Bridge.

There he was met by Spock, who looked faintly preoccupied. "Captain, we have compiled a complete list of identified Brigadier crewmembers, and I have had it sent to Starfleet Command."

"Good. Thank you, Mr. Spock." Kirk moved past the Vulcan, heading for the captain's chair.

He halted in his tracks when Spock said, "However, Captain, I find it curious that the list did not include information on Reynard's parentage."

Kirk took a moment to turn around. "Mr. Spock, please join me in my ready room."

Before Spock could reply, the lift doors opened again and Uhura walked in, accompanied by Reynard. "Hello, Captain." Uhura said with a smile. "You must've taken a quicker route up here." She paused, looking concerned, almost certainly by the gloomy expression the captain no doubt had on his face. "It's okay that I brought him up here, right? I didn't think you'd mind, but maybe I should've asked…"

Kirk forced a quick smile. "It's fine, Uhura…" He hesitated, recalling how comfortable Reynard had been acting around Uhura. _She seems to be his favorite person aboard the Enterprise right now_. "Lieutenant, could you join me and Spock in my ready room? It won't take long. Reynard, feel free to look around. You have the conn, Mr. Sulu."

He led the way to his ready room. The door slid shut just as he heard Reynard start a tentative conversation with Ensign Chekov.

"Take a seat," he told his officers before sitting down at the table himself. The other two watched him, Uhura clearly anxious, Spock curious. After a moment, he said, "I know you know this, Spock; but Uhura, are you aware that we've successfully identified the remains of the Brigadier crewmembers through DNA records?"

She nodded. "I saw Dr. McCoy this morning before I took Reynard to breakfast, and he told me."

"I see." Kirk picked up a PADD from the tabletop and began to search through some records. "Last night, I was called down to Sickbay to speak with Dr. McCoy, and I discovered that he had figured out who Reynard's parents are." He took a moment to gauge Uhura and Spock's expressions.

Uhura looked shocked, but Spock only tilted his head to one side. Kirk took a deep breath and opened a personnel record. He laid the PADD down and spun it around so the other two could read it. "His mother's name is Rebecca Brandon. She was an ensign aboard the _Brigadier_."

Uhura and Spock both leaned forward to read the file. Looking at it upside down, Kirk's eyes were drawn to the ID picture included in the record.

He'd looked Ensign Brandon's records that morning, and while examining her picture then, it had occurred to him that Reynard looked rather like her, with a similar long, narrow face, the same pointed nose. Except her hair was auburn, her eyes blue-green.

_He has his father's hair and eyes._

Another thing he'd noticed was her air of unruffled confidence conveyed in the old image. It reminded Kirk of himself, only without the swagger he liked to convey.

"She looks nice." Uhura glanced across the table, catching Kirk's gaze. Spock, however, picked up the PADD and began to scroll through the information on Ensign Brandon. Uhura continued, "Reynard kept mentioning his mom as we were talking…he'd cut himself off after a few seconds, whenever he'd remember…But he did say at one point that while she talked about his father often, she never spoke his name."

With a heavy sigh, Kirk said, "Well, we know who his dad is now."

"And he is…?"

"Captain," Spock said suddenly, "According to these records, Ensign Brandon's only listed next of kin was one Leonard H. McCoy." His eyebrow went up, and Kirk could practically see the Vulcan's mind working through the calculations.

For a moment, Jim felt a bit of guilt about not asking McCoy permission to tell Uhura and Spock what he was trying to tell them. He pushed it aside. "Rebecca Brandon and Dr. McCoy were in a relationship during her Academy years and afterwards, until the loss of the _Brigadier_."

Silence. Then Uhura gasped, "Reynard is…_Dr. McCoy's_ son?"

Kirk nodded.

Uhura covered her mouth with her hand.

"That would explain the doctor's…_higher_ level of irrational behavior since we discovered the remains of the Brigadier. He mentioned that a friend of his…"

"_Yes_, Spock; only it wasn't a friend, it was his lover."

"He looked awful this morning…" Uhura recalled, "I thought he'd just been up late…"

"Actually, I think it was all night..."

Eyes narrowed, Spock interrupted. "Captain, is Dr. McCoy aware that you are telling us these facts?"

"Uh…no, he doesn't." _Well, I didn't tell anyone _last night_, did I? _"I'm sure he realized that I had to tell someone sometime…For now, though, it doesn't go beyond us three and him. Is that clear?"

"Perfectly, Captain."

Uhura took longer to reply. "Yes, but...Is someone going to tell Reynard?"

Kirk fidgeted in his seat. "Maybe…eventually, yeah. Right now we should probably figure out a way to find his mom and the other survivors..." _Assuming there are any..._ "Spock, maybe you can work on that? Our other science officers can deal with the planetary scans."

"I will see what I can do, Captain."

"Thanks. Uhura, keep an eye on Reynard like you've been doing. And…keep him out of McCoy's way. I think that would be the easiest way to handle it for the moment."

_For Bones, at least._


	8. Too Clever

"You told Spock and Uhura."

It came out as a flat statement rather than a question, but then, it wasn't a question. Dr. McCoy was hardly surprised.

"I had too, Bones." Jim sounded unusually apologetic.

"I understand." McCoy didn't lift his gaze from the smooth surface of the desk before him. He was aware that he was most likely scaring the hell out of his best friend with his apathetic behavior, but couldn't find it in himself to care.

After a pause, Jim said tentatively, "I was thinking that we could move Reynard to guest quarters…if you don't have a medical reason for him to stay in Sickbay. He might be more comfortable."

_More like _I'd_ be more comfortable without having him around where I work. _"Yeah, he can leave Sickbay. He's recovered fast…He'll get tired easily for a while…Other than that, he's fine. Just needs to be watched."

"Great! I'll tell Uhura. I think she's installed herself as his babysitter."

_Uhura? Well, Reynard likes her, but…_Without much forethought or consent, McCoy's mind endeavored to find a reason to _not_ have Uhura watch Reynard, and found none. _Don't be silly!_ _She's done a good job of it so far._

Unfortunately, he couldn't say the same for himself and his job. Standing up, he turned to Kirk and said dully, "I wish to be temporarily relieved of duty, Captain."

"Bones…"

"Jim, when I can't look one of my patients in the eye, it's time for me to get out of Sickbay. What happens when Reynard comes back in here for something and wonders why I can't look at him straight anymore? Or if I have to treat someone else and I'm so wrapped up in thinking about Rebecca that I end up killing the patient? Jim, maybe I'll be fine tomorrow and maybe I won't. My point is that _right now_ I'm not fit for duty, so I'm asking permission to leave my post."

Kirk gazed at him levelly. "All right. You're relieved from your regular duties, Dr. McCoy, until you feel able to resume them. But now I'm ordering you to go get lunch or something. When's the last time you ate? And coffee doesn't count, Bones."

McCoy frowned, mentally chiding himself for not at least consuming some solid form of nourishment for over twelve hours. "That's a really good question." He paused, considering. "The list of identified remains from the crash has been sent to Starfleet Command?"

"Yep, that's all taken care of."

"Well, that's a relief. I'll see you later, Jim." He left the office, realizing that he was indeed very hungry.

"Don't forget lunch!" the captain yelled after him.

_You told me to eat five seconds ago! _"Reversing roles, are we Jim? You're the one who usually needs reminding!" McCoy shouted back as he exited Sickbay.

He went to the mess hall with the intention of grabbing some food and taking it to his quarters. It was actually lunchtime, and there was quite a crowd in the large room. McCoy went about filling a tray with an scowl that kept everyone else a safe distance away.

But as he was heading for the door, he heard a cheerful voice call, "Oi, Doctor! Dr. McCoy! Come an' join us!"

He looked over and saw Scotty waving at him. At the table with the engineer was what looked like most of the command crew and…_Oh, shit!…_Reynard.

He felt like he was acting under a foreign compulsion as he walked over and sat down with the others. The rational part of him was screaming, _What the hell do you think you're doing? Get out of here! _And yet he took a seat between Scotty and Chekov, stiff with anxiety.

"Hello, Dr. McCoy," Reynard said.

_Oh, hell, he's right across from me. _McCoy forced himself to meet the boy's gaze for a moment. "Hello, Reynard. How are you feeling?"

"A little tired, actually. Lieutenant Uhura took me all over the ship this morning."

"So I heard." McCoy glanced at Uhura, the only other person at the table who _knew_.

She sent a concerned look his way as she said, "Maybe you should take a nap once we assign you to some guest quarters, Reynard."

"Hmm…I don't like sleeping during the day."

"You'll probably change your mind if you ever get a job where you have to work some night shifts," Sulu commented with a grin. "Or maybe you'll just start enjoying day naps; lots of people do."

Reynard made a face. "That's what my mom says…said…whenever a lot of the adults went to sleep during the hottest part of the day. _She_ likes to. Liked to." He looked down at his plate.

Scotty tried to cover the awkward moment by cutting off a portion of his large lunch sandwich and dropping it on Reynard's plate. "Here, try that, laddie. The rest of the food ye have looks too damn healthy."

Reynard smiled at the engineer and picked up the sandwich, but hesitated to taste it.

"Scotty!" scolded Uhura. "Are you trying to make him sick?"

"Aw, come on, lass! I think he's being careful enough!" Scotty gestured towards Reynard's plate, which contained a small pile of carrots, another of potatoes, some cut-up chicken, and an apple with a couple bites taken out of it. "The lad eats like a bloody bird! And ah understand tha'…"

Reynard interrupted. "Birds are the things with feathers and wings, right?"

A pause. "You don't know what a bird is?" Sulu asked incredulously.

_It takes reminders like this for us all to remember he's not a normal kid._

Ducking his head, Reynard muttered, "I know what a bird _is_, I've just never _seen_ one."

"Zat makes sense. There are no birds or wery similar creatures living on Quirinus IV," Chekov said.

"I've just been told about them…" Reynard trailed off and bit into the sandwich, chewing vigorously.

"_Reynard_!" Uhura looked to McCoy for help.

The doctor had been staying quiet, trying to eat, until Uhura appealed to him. He sighed. Sandwiches were not on the list of things he'd recommended Reynard eat a lot of so soon after leaving Quirinus IV. _Well_…"One quarter of a ham and cheese sandwich isn't going to kill him, Uhura," he said. _So far he's managed everything we've given him better than I'd anticipated. Still, should I be more worried?_

"Okay…" Uhura acquiesced.

"Ye see, Lieutenant, it's our job to see tha' Reynie here gets properly educated on the good things in life…at least the ones that are appropriate for his age…" Scotty paused to join in Sulu and Chekov's laughter. "Well, it's the truth. He's never had a proper sandwich before today…have you, Reynie, lad?"

Reynard giggled and shook his head. "I like it." He took another bite.

"Exactly…he's never had a proper _meal_ until he got aboard this ship! Lizards and desert plants mah ass…Tha's no good for anyone, not even Keenser!"

_I have to agree with him there._

For a couple minutes, everyone went back to eating.

"Mom always said I was too small. Then she'd say that it was okay, it didn't matter to her. She was lying…I think she was just worried about me," Reynard said after he'd finished his sandwich and had started on his vegetables. His tone held a hint of sadness and his gaze was downcast.

Gently, Chekov responded, "Your muzzer sounds like a wery good person."

"She is...was. The others listened to her most of the time. They called her the captain, you know."

_Wait, what?_

"No, we didn't know that," Uhura said as the others at the table exchanged glances. "I guess we assumed that all the survivors just cooperated…"

"Oh, we did! Everyone worked together. But sometimes they'd asked Mom what she wanted them to do, and they'd call her 'Captain', and then she tell them not to be ridiculous."

"And vhat about your father?" Chekov questioned.

Uhura gave McCoy a wide-eyed look and stammered out, "Reynard, didn't you already say that your mom mentioned your father a few times? It was in Sickbay yesterday," she told the others.

Reynard brightened visibly. "Mom talked about him a lot. She told me that he got airsick so easily that he hated flying, and that he thought she was crazy most of the time, and that he always made her laugh just by saying whatever he was thinking. She also said she missed him." He let out a soft sigh. "_I_ miss _her_," he whispered.

Sulu patted him on the back. "Hey, don't worry. We'll find her."

Reynard shrugged and returned to his lunch.

And McCoy couldn't take it any longer. Avoiding everyone's gaze, he stood, accidentally rattling the table and dishes as he did so. "Excuse me."

He'd rushed out of the mess hall and was partway down the corridor before Uhura caught up to him. "Doctor McCoy!"

He stopped and turned to face her as she came up, panting. "Sir, I'm so sorry…"

"You did nothing wrong, Uhura. If anything, I should be thanking you."

"For…?"

McCoy glanced around to check if anyone was within earshot before saying, "For taking care of my damn kid, that's what for."

Uhura bit her lip. "I was just trying to help…Doctor, I'm sorry about…about his mother…"

"Yeah, well so am I." McCoy turned to go, only to be stopped by Uhura's voice again.

"You loved her, didn't you?"

He couldn't look directly at her. "Yes, Lieutenant, I did. I only wish I knew what the hell I'm supposed to do with her son now."

"We may find her," Uhura said. "Spock's looking into it…"

"Yeah, well…" _Even if we do find her, there's no guarantee that she'll be alive. _"Make sure Reynard does take a nap, will you?"

"Of course, Doctor."

McCoy nodded curtly and resumed his path to his quarters.

* * *

The next two days passed peacefully enough.

Spock considered the issue of how to find what was left of the _Brigadier_ crew, with no success.

The majority of the crew went about their work without incident, though there was the faintest trace of apprehension about the ship. Everyone knew that Klingons had been in the system recently, and there was a chance that they would return before the _Enterprise_ left.

Lieutenant Uhura split her time between her usual duties and supervising Reynard, who was getting more and more confident and curious by the day. He showed up in different parts of the ship at unexpected times, sometimes asking questions and other times just watching crewmembers work. He was quickly becoming a fixture aboard the ship.

Jim Kirk was uneasy.

Per Starfleet orders, the _Enterprise_ continued scanning the Quirinus system, until "_more information on the whereabouts of the _Brigadier_ crew_" could be found. If they did find anything, their task was to rescue the survivors, unless there was the possibility of war with the Klingon Empire. In that case, they were to report to Starfleet Command again and wait for further instructions.

Kirk had no intention of contacting Starfleet again until he had Rebecca Brandon and her companions safe on board his starship. Politics be hanged; they were going to rescue the survivors without worrying about mincing around the issue with the Klingons.

Plus, he'd intentionally left Reynard out of the official report.

Spock hadn't approved.

"Captain, the boy is an integral part of this investigation into the destruction of the _U.S.S. Brigadier_. Not informing Starfleet Command of his existence is not within the standards of normal procedure and is undeniably irresponsible."

"Yeah, Spock, I know, but…Look, we'll find the other survivors and when we write up the report on who they are and so on, we'll include the kid and just be vague on exactly when and where we found him. It won't make much of a difference…It's not like he actually knows much strategic stuff, anyway."

Spock hadn't looked convinced, so Kirk tried a different tack. "Spock, if we report his presence aboard now, they're going to expect us to already have a DNA match on his parents, right? Since we already ran the whole damn crew of the _Brigadier_."

"That is a logical assumption, Captain."

"And if we just say that we have his mother's name, they're going to do some on-planet investigating and they'll figure out that McCoy's his father. I don't want to put Bones through the resulting legal mess until we have Reynard's mom, too. Oh, yeah, and we'll have to tell the kid and…uh, I would rather his mom did that. I think Bones would, too."

Spock hadn't agreed, but had let it go with nothing more than an annoyingly-true reminder that Rebecca Brandon might not be alive to find.

Kirk knew that. But he had never been one to believe in no-win scenarios, and he wasn't going to start now. He would believe that the survivors of the _Brigadier_ crash were still out there somewhere, surviving, until he saw irrefutable evidence to the contrary.

_I wonder what Bones believes at this point?_

Kirk had learned about the "lunch incident" from Uhura, and had gone to see the doctor afterwards.

"Bones, I thought you wanted to avoid the kid for the time being!"

"I do, I just…I don't know what I was doing. It was sit down for a few minutes and try to act normal or ignore Mr. Scott and look damned suspicious."

"According to Uhura, the way you left the table was suspicious enough."

"Damn it, Jim, I realize I made a stupid decision, okay? You don't have to keep harassing me about it!"

As far as the captain knew, McCo...using the excuse "flu virus"...had barely left his quarters since.

No one really believed that, in particular the nurses who had witnessed McCoy's behavior the night the DNA scans came through. However, suspicious as many people on board were at the doctor's sudden disappearance from Sickbay and his self-imposed quarantine, they kept it mostly to themselves without being told to. Jim was glad of it, for Bones' sake.

_It was really too good to last, wasn't it?_

The worst part was, it wasn't merely an inquisitive yeoman or an overworked nurse bringing the touchy subject to light.

_Bones, your son is too damn clever._

"Mr. Spock, I've been thinking. Is it true that Vulcans cannot lie?"

"Yes, Reynard, that is correct," Spock replied from where he was bent over a control console.

"Well then, would you mind explaining why Dr. McCoy has been isolating himself from the rest of the ship? No one believes that he's ill. Is it because of something else related to the _Brigadier_ or is it because of me?"

Almost everyone on the Bridge at that time stopped to watch. Spock slowly straightened and turned to the captain, silently asking for assistance.

_Vulcans can't lie but that doesn't mean they can't keep their mouths shut. _Under other circumstances, Kirk would've enjoyed seeing Spock this close to flabbergasted. This time, though, it wasn't funny.

His gaze moved to Uhura, whose expression was panicked; the gazes from the other crewmembers were merely curious.

The pause went on too long. "It _is_ about me, isn't it?" Reynard was now focused on the captain. "If it was something else you would've just said so."

"Reynard…" Kirk faltered. _It isn't my place…I need to ask Bones…God, I wish the kid's mom was here…_

No one of the Bridge made a sound until the boy spoke again, his voice pitched higher than normal. "Why won't you just tell me? You think I can't handle it?"

_No, actually, I think Bones is the one who couldn't handle it. _Feeling helpless, Kirk turned back to Uhura. Now he was the one silently pleading for help. _This is _way_ out of my depth, Uhura…maybe you could…_

The lieutenant nodded slightly in response to his unspoken question. She let out a tiny sigh, lifted her head, and stepped over to where Reynard stood near the first officer's chair. "Reynard, sweetie, let's go down to your quarters and we'll have a talk, okay?"

After the boy had obediently followed Uhura into the turbolift and the doors had shut, Spock caught Kirk's gaze. "Captain…"

"I'm going to talk to Bones. You have the conn, Mr. Spock." As he was walking through the door, Kirk stopped. "All right, everyone…What just happened…it doesn't go beyond this room. Is that understood?"

A chorus of "_Yes, sir_." followed him off the Bridge.


	9. The Thing About Klingons

"_Lieutenant Uhura to Captain Kirk._"

"Kirk here."

"_Have you spoken to Dr. McCoy, sir?_"

"Uh…." He hadn't in fact gotten as far as McCoy's quarters. He'd subconsciously chosen the longest route possible and therefore was wandering around somewhere in the yeomen's living quarters instead of the officers'.

For the most part, Jim Kirk was great at face-to-face confrontations with enemies. And with friends…when he was attempting to force confessions out of them.

Gently breaking news to people…that wasn't something he found easy to do.

His long silence allowed Uhura to figure him out. "_You didn't speak to him yet. _Damn_ you, Kirk!_"

"Look, Uhura, I haven't gotten to his room yet!"

"_Well, what have you been doing?"_

"Um…walking?" He grimaced at her exasperated sigh. "Did you…did you tell the kid?"

"_Yeah_." One short, quiet word, followed by, "_I just laid it out for him, all the facts that I know._"

"Huh. I bet Spock would approve of that approach. So…how did he take it?"

"_Quietly. Very quietly_." Pause. "_He asked to be left alone for a while; I'll check on him later._"

"Did he…believe you?" _'Cause it would just _great_ if he didn't._

She snorted. "_Well, yes, I think he did_." More seriously, she added, "_He's really perceptive, and I _was _telling the truth, so_…"

"Yeah. I see."

"_Captain, you have to_…"

"Yes, I'm going to see Bones now, I swear!"

"_Okay. I'm going back to the Bridge to finish my shift._"

"Good. See you later, Uhura. Kirk out."

* * *

McCoy was trying…and failing…to read a medical journal when Kirk showed up at his door.

For him, the last couple days had been a blur of engaging in meaningless activities all in an attempt to stop thinking. It didn't work; his mind wouldn't stop going over the whole damn situation and he besides he was bored stiff. He like to relax occasionally, like any normal person, but that was out of the question in the light of current events and he simply didn't have enough real alcohol secreted in his quarters to get blind drunk on.

So it was almost a relief when the captain walked in.

_Great, a diversion. _"Jim, how's the damn ship?" he asked sarcastically. "I haven't got any calls from Sickbay and no red alerts have been called, so I'm assuming that everything's just fine."

"Well, your reasoning's correct, Doctor, the ship is fine." Jim wandered over to the chair across from where McCoy was sitting and perched on the back of it.

_He looks goddamn shifty. _"I know that look, Jim; what the hell is going on?"

Kirk's eyes roved around the room, resting anywhere but the doctor. "Got any more alcohol laying around, Bones? Or did you already drink it all?"

"If I did have any left, I wouldn't share it with you. At least not until you tell me what's bothering you so damn much that you won't even look at me."

Clearing his throat, Kirk stood up again and started pacing. After a minute of watching him, McCoy shook his head and looked back down at the medical journal.

"Reynard knows you're his father."

McCoy stiffened. It cost him massive effort not to shout his next words. "You…_told_…him?"

"No…Yes…Um, Uhura did. Well, I gave her permission to first…I mean…" Jim stammered, not making a great figure as a captain in the moment.

"You just…_told him_?" Every word came out like a slap.

"Bones…I didn't…we didn't…"

McCoy set down his reading material very deliberately and stood up, taking a step towards his friend. He'd often harbored the desire to punch Jim in the face, chiefly when the idiot was being a smart-ass. But this sudden urge to tear the younger man limb from limb was far, far beyond that. "So. _Uhura _told Reynard the truth…after _you_ gave her permission to do so. And no one thought to ask me first?" _I'm going to kill him this time…_

"Damn it, Bones!" Kirk threw his hands up. "Yes, I let Uhura tell Reynard the truth..._after _the kid walked up to Spock and calmly asked him why you're being such a hermit, once he'd checked to make sure that the 'Vulcans cannot lie' thing was the truth!"

"So…" McCoy worked through that, which was difficult. "_Reynard_ instigated it?"

"Yeah. Bones, I know that I shouldn't be giving excuses, but he backed us into a damn corner. Asked if you're weird behavior was related to him or something else...Our reactions to that gave us away."

"And he did this on the Bridge? In front of everyone?"

"Yes. I think he planned the whole thing out beforehand. If it's any consolation, Uhura took him somewhere private to explain and I told the Bridge crew to keep their mouths shut."

McCoy turned away, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down. "He asked."

"Yes, though I don't…He probably didn't expect the answer he got." Kirk let out a nervous chuckle.

"Poor kid." McCoy scoffed, mostly at himself. "I'm not much of a father, am I?"

"I don't know about that." The sound of the captain's boots on the floor signaled that he'd moved forward. "I've seen you with your daughter before, Bones. I'd say you're a pretty good father when it comes down to it…though admittedly I'm not one to judge."

"And yet here I am, avoiding the whole damn ship just so I can make sure I won't see him." _Coward that I am. _"I don't think he'll appreciate my behavior now that he knows…There's going to be a figurative explosion fairly soon, Jim, and if…" He trailed off, but Kirk finished for him.

"If he has half the temper you do, it's not going to be pretty."

"Humph. But yeah, you're right. It's not going to be pleasant for anyone."

He turned back to his friend, who seemed on the verge of saying something when the comm crackled to life. "Bridge to the Captain."

"Kirk here," the captain replied immediately; neither man had missed the urgency in Spock's normally-blank tone.

"Captain, a our sensors have picked up a Klingon vessel entering this system."

"Signal a ship-wide yellow alert, Mr. Spock. I'm on my way."

* * *

McCoy backed into a corner of the Bridge, staying out of the way. He felt awkward in his plain black off-duty clothing and unsure of why he had even followed Kirk onto the Bridge.

_Well, it's hardly the first time I've been up here during a crisis. _Though usually he could claim that he was there in case of medical emergency. _Not so now._

Fortunately no one paid him any attention...save for Uhura, who spared him a nervous glance...as they were all too busy worrying about the Klingon warbird that had apparently just spotted the _Enterprise_ in its orbit around Quirinus I.

"I don't understand, sir, ze Klingon ship is leawing!" Chekov shouted as Kirk took command of the Bridge again.

"Mr. Chekov is correct; the Klingons have seen us, but they are now reversing course and leaving the system," Spock said.

"Abandon all scans of the planet; we can come back later. Mr. Sulu, plot a course to follow the Klingons. I have a feeling they'll lead us straight to the people we want to find."

McCoy was unaccustomed to the sudden flicker of hope he felt. _To the people we want to find…to Rebecca._

"Aye, Captain. Course plotted; do you want to overtake them? We should be able to." 

"No, Mr. Sulu, stay behind them."

"Yes, sir."

Seconds after they had gone into warp, Spock spoke again. "Captain, I have just analyzed scans of the Klingon vessel. It is of a far older make than is usually encountered outside of Klingon space. Moreover, the ship appears to be in a state of disrepair."

Kirk seemed to ponder the information for a moment. "Mr. Chekov, would it be possible to follow the Klingons further behind than their sensors could detect us?"

"Well, sir…" Chekov tapped the console before him. "Yes, sir, their sensors seem wery primitive. We _could_ trail zem wizout being detected and not lose zem on our own scanners."

"Sulu, adjust course to make that work."

"Adjusting course, sir…Dropping to Warp Factor 1.5."

"Captain, if my calculations are correct, we are behind ze range of their sensors," Chekov reported.

"Hmm, they're not moving too fast, are they? Spock?"

"As I stated before, Captain, their vessel is rather primitive. It is surprising that a culture so sustained by military power and brutality would choose to use a ship such as this for an apparent scouting mission."

"Well…" Kirk grinned mysteriously. "Maybe they didn't." He jumped up from his seat, looking enormously pleased with himself. "I've got a theory."

_I know _that _expression, too. We're in for a hell of a ride._

* * *

"Captain, I feel compelled to advise you against going on this mission yourself."

McCoy watched as Spock tried, yet again, to dissuade the captain from being stupid. _It won't work_. _It never does._

Hell, they were literally standing right next to the shuttle Kirk was about to board while security and engineering crewmembers rushed about them, preparing for departure.

"Okay, Spock, tell me again: what exactly are we up against?"

The half-Vulcan's face settled into what passed...for him...as an annoyed expression. "Long range sensors indicate the presence of what appears to be a primitive outpost on the nearby planetoid, with minimal weaponry and defenses, where the Klingon warbird appears to have landed. However, Captain, may I remind you that we are stationary in the Neutral Zone barely within sensor range of said planetoid and…"

"Oh, come on, Spock, it's not going to be that hard. We take the three shuttles, we approach the planet and land a distance from the outpost, we sneak in, get the people from the _Brigadier_, sneak out, and bring the shuttles back here. It's foolproof!"

_Foolproof, my ass. More like foolhardy._

"May I also remind you that you are once again basing your plan of rescue off the assumption that the Klingons we pursued to this system are the same ones who took the survivors from Quirinus IV?"

"Spock, they're the same ones. Think about it; if the actual Klingon Empire was behind it, they'd be using those people from the Brigadier as bargaining chips in negotiations with the Federation right now. These Klingons are basically the equivalent of backwoods hicks on Earth. I'd say some of them are criminals, too."

_But we still can't blow them all off the face of their little planet..."just in case"._

"Moreover, Captain, as obsolete as the outpost's ships may be, they are still functional. It is only logical to assume that they have more than one on the planetoid. And even if they do not, it is illogical for you, as captain of this ship, to go on a mission this dangerous. If a high-ranking officer is necessary, I should be the one…"

"Spock, I'm going. It's settled."

_We've gone over this about ten times already. Maybe Spock's actually just worried and causing this delay on purpose…Ha, if that were true…_

The first officer did have a good point, though. It was stupid for Kirk to go.

_Not that it ever stops him._

Probably realizing this, Spock ceased trying to stop Kirk from leaving the ship. Giving a small nod, he said, "We will be monitoring your progress as extensively as we are able to, Captain."

"Thanks, Spock. Report to the Bridge; you have the ship." Kirk gave him a reassuring grin.

"Yes, Captain." With that, Spock turned to leave the shuttle bay.

Once the straight figure was out of earshot, McCoy finally spoke. "Jim, let me come with you."

Jim shook his head. "No, Bones, you're staying here."

"Jim, please…" McCoy drew a shaky breath. "I know I asked to be relieved of duty, but I…" _I have to find Rebecca. Just understand that so I don't have to say it out loud. _The doctor didn't want to discover if his voice would give out if he tried to say it.

The look Kirk gave him was full of pity, and something else less identifiable. "I know why you want to come, but you need to stay here. You're not trained for away missions like the rest of us who are going…"

"A fact which has never stopped you from dragging me along before!"

Kirk pressed on. "…Spock's right when he says it's going to be dangerous…I know you'd give it your all but you'd be a…a liability, and…"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

The captain heaved a sigh. "That's not what I…Look at it this way, Bones. If you won't think of yourself right now and can't stop thinking about your girlfriend…think about Reynard instead."

It took a moment for McCoy to understand what Jim was driving at. When he did, he felt awful for not considering it sooner. _Reynard's had one parent his whole life. If this away mission were to end badly and I were on it, he wouldn't have any parents…regardless of where Rebecca is now._

His throat tightened as he realized just how perceptive the captain could be. To cover his discomfort, he muttered, "When did you get so damn sensitive?"

Kirk laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "We'll be back before you know it." He hopped up onto the shuttle ramp, eyes gleaming with the prospect of adventure that never failed to excite him, no matter the danger.

McCoy stepped back from the shuttle. "Well, good luck. And watch yourself, damn it! I don't need you coming back in pieces."

"Don't I always?" Jim's smile faded briefly. "If she's alive, Bones, I'll bring her back. I promise."

The doctor could only nod in response as his friend disappeared into the shuttle.

* * *

"Approaching planetoid, Captain. Landing coordinates set…we'll touch down about three miles outside the main compound."

"All right, Mr. Sulu, keep the approach angle sharp; we don't want to draw unwelcome attention." They had taken a very circuitous route in their approach of the planetoid, to avoid detection. On the way back, the _Enterprise_ could come to their rescue if absolutely necessary. On the way there, it wasn't an option. "Status of the other shuttles, Lieutenant Grant?"

"Shuttles 35 and 42 are following us at close distance, sir." reported the officer who was overseeing communications. "The _Enterprise_ reports no activity from the Klingons." They'd had to bring three shuttles; hopefully they would find at least thirty people from the _Brigadier_, and if they did no one wanted to overload the small crafts.

"Four minutes 'till landing, sir," Sulu said.

"Okay." Kirk stood up from the copilot chair and turned to the others in the shuttle, two from operations and four security officers. "Lieutenant, broadcast to the other shuttles." Upon receiving a nod of confirmation, he said, "All right, people, you've been briefed, but here's the plan in simple terms. Once we land, the pilots and two operations officers on each shuttle will stay at the landing site; everyone else, we're going to go in, find the people from the _Brigadier_, come right back here, and haul ass back to the _Enterprise_. We'll keep communications open at all times, phasers on heavy stun. We don't want any mistaken casualties. With any luck, we'll be out in a few hours. Sulu, you're coming with me. Everyone understand?"

"_Aye, Captain!_"

He smiled, wryly. "Good luck to us all."

* * *

The planetoid wasn't exactly an ideal vacation spot.

Jagged rock formations and boulder piles were everywhere, spotted with scraggly, thorny vegetation. It was night time where the away team was, so it took them far longer than expected to pick their way through the maze of rocky terrain on the way to the outpost.

The outpost itself wasn't impressive. In the dim light of a couple tiny moons, it was revealed to be a collection of ramshackle huts and roughly-hewn cave entrances. On a landing field close by, three Klingon warbirds sat in a half-circle.

A few Klingons were visible; three lounged around, apparently acting as guards, while two more argued out in the small open area between the huts. After a few minutes of silent observation, Kirk saw the arguing pair split up and go into separate buildings.

"I think the huts are theirs; the prisoners are probably in those caves." The captain fell silent for another minute. "Okay, we're splitting up into three groups to cover more ground."

It took several minutes of sneaking around corners and quietly stunning Klingon guards to get to the caves. Kirk led a group of five, including Sulu, into the entrance furthest to the left.

They soon realized that they were in fact inside a collection of tunnels. Sulu was the first to spot the tools laying about. "This is a mining outpost. I wonder what they're mining for?"

Kirk shrugged; he could care less.

Then they started running into the actual miners, all asleep in rooms off the main tunnels...about two dozen various aliens, most Klingons or other species from within Klingon space.

"Slave labor," Kirk mouthed to the others. They felt sorry for these prisoners, of course.

_But these aren't the people we're looking for._

The group had to splinter again for short periods of time, searching every corner. All they found were a few more aliens...they had to stun a couple, unfortunately...and more picked-over tunnels.

Then Sulu came running back from a solitary foray, his expression excited. "Just down that next passageway…" he panted, "I heard voices…speaking Federation standard."

_This must be it. _"Show us," the captain ordered.

The helmsmen led them through a narrow connecting passage and gestured down it. "Around that next corner."

"Let me go first," Kirk mouthed to Sulu, who nodded.

Creeping forward, the captain led the way down the passageway, to the corner from around which Sulu had heard Federation standard being spoken.

He heard some voices himself as he reached the corner and paused. They suddenly died down. Taking a deep breath, he stepped around the rock wall…

And was met by a fist in the face.

Later, he became convinced that he actually blacked out for a moment. Ending up flat on his back, he only vaguely heard someone whisper-shouting, "_Hey! We're here to help you! We're with Starfleet!_" before someone else hoisted him to his feet. "Captain? Are you all right?"

He blinked groggily at Sulu, then reoriented himself and looked at his attacker, who was staring at him, rubbing his…no, _her_ knuckles.

It took him a minute to recognize her.

"Sorry," said Rebecca Brandon. "I thought you were a Klingon."


	10. Captain Brandon

McCoy was up on the Bridge for roughly an hour before Mr. Spock threw him out.

Not literally, of course. The half-Vulcan just said something along the lines of, "I fully understand your desire to be here to hear news from the away mission as quickly as possible, Doctor; however, your extreme agitation is having a detrimental effect on the functioning of the Bridge crew."

In other words, Spock found McCoy's constant pacing and muttering distracting and wanted him to leave. So the doctor left in a huff.

_Goddamnit, at least on the Bridge I have something to do: annoy the hobgoblin._

He was going to go insane if he had to wait around, doing nothing until the away team returned. Technically, he was still off-duty, so going to Sickbay was out.

_Not like I'd be much use down there anyway in my current mood…wasn't that the point of my leaving duty?_

Exiting the turbolift a few decks down, he came face-to-face with Uhura. "Lieutenant," he said icily, moving to step around her.

"Dr. McCoy." She blocked his path. "Your_ son_ would like to speak to you."

"Oh, God, why?" _Shit, did I just say that?_

Uhura's chin went up and her shoulders stiffened. "I went to check on him in his quarters, and he asked to speak with you." She adopted a scathing expression. "Shall I…Oh, I don't know…go tell him that you can't be bothered right now?"

"No! I mean, I'll talk to him." McCoy got a sinking feeling in his gut as he realized what he had just agreed to. He swore under his breath, then glared at the lieutenant. "Could you possibly move so I can be on my damn way?"

She shot him another dirty look and stepped aside. He strode past her, inwardly cursing the whole universe.

He wasn't angry at Reynard; on the contrary, he admired the kid's maturity in the situation. The easy thing to do would be to try to avoid the possible dilemma...like McCoy himself was doing...but Reynard was attempting to deal with everything head-on.

He wasn't even that angry with Uhura; she, like Jim, was just trying to do what she thought was right.

No, the doctor was furious at himself.

He felt as if he should have handled everything…Rebecca's survival, Reynard's existence…better than he had, and yet he hadn't a clue as to what he should have done differently. Damn it, he _should_ know! But then…

_Nothing trains you for something like this._

The journey to Reynard's assigned quarters was over far too quickly.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he hit the door buzzer.

"It's unlocked," came the expected voice from within.

Mentally bracing himself, McCoy entered.

Reynard was sitting on a chair, a PADD on his lap. He glanced up from it; his eyes widened. "I didn't think you'd come." 

"Can't blame you for thinking something like that." McCoy sat down across from the boy, who put the PADD aside and simply stared at him for a while.

_It's like he's sizing me up._

McCoy let him, deciding that the kid should make the next move.

He soon did. "Why didn't you tell me yourself?"

_Honestly? _"Because I was scared. And it hurt too much."

"Because of Mom?"

"Yeah. Because of your mother."

Another long silence ensued. "You didn't know about me."

_How much did Uhura tell him? I should've asked. _"No, I didn't know."

"So I was an accident."

It was harsh to answer that truthfully. "Yes. Though not an entirely bad one." McCoy had a moment of paralyzing terror as he ran through Reynard's possible reactions.

The boy only snorted. "She said the same thing. Mom, I mean." Reynard paused. "She also called me a miracle." _That's not far from the truth; it is a miracle that she managed to keep him alive through everything. _"So did everyone else. Especially Alyssa."

"Who?"

"The nurse. She was the only survivor from the original medical staff aboard the _Brigadier_."

"I see."

Reynard eyed him a moment longer. "What if I hadn't asked? Would you have told me eventually?"

"Yes. When…if they brought back your mother, we would've told you."

"What if she wasn't…found?" There was painful urgency behind the question.

"I would've told you. Though it might…it might've taken a while."

"Hmm. So it's a good thing I asked."

McCoy nodded. "Yeah, I guess it was."

They lapsed into silence once more. Reynard's next question came unexpectedly. "Did you ever start a relationship with someone else?"

_God, this kid talks like he's forty. It's damn creepy. _"I got married. A couple years after your mom…Anyway, my wife and I got divorced a few years back. Couldn't stand each other."

"Any kids?" Reynard's eyes bored into him, daring him to lie.

He didn't. "Her name's Joanna and she's seven."

The boy absorbed that for a second, then stood up and walked around behind his chair, leaning on it. His fingers rubbed back and forth on the grey material of the backrest. The level of tension in the room had almost reached unbearable before he spoke again. "Did you love her? My mother?" 

McCoy struggled to swallow the sudden lump in his throat and answer. "Yes, I loved her."

"What about now?"

"I don't know." _I don't know._

Giving a barely perceptible nod, Reynard said, "Okay."

The doctor cleared his throat. "Anything else you want to talk about?"

"Not right now…Except, the captain just left on a mission, didn't he? Uhura said…"

"Yes, he's leading an away mission. We think we may have found the Klingons who took your mom and the others."

"They're bringing them back to the _Enterprise_?"

"That's the plan." _Risky as it is._

"If they don't…if Mom…" The boy's voice cracked, and he took several deep breaths before continuing, "What's going to happen to me?"

McCoy rose from his chair, approaching Reynard cautiously. When he was close enough, he reached out and rested his hand on the boy's shoulder, looking down into a pair of eyes too much like his own. "Reynard, I have no idea what's going to happen. I know that…that we're both hoping Rebecca…your mother…is still alive and that they'll bring her back." He hesitated, before saying, "I wanted to go on the away mission. The captain said no. And he was right to, because…Reynard, I didn't know you existed until a few days ago, but don't let that fact convince you that I'll abandon you first chance I get. Because I won't." He had to stop talking then because if he kept going he was damn well going to start crying.

Reynard laid his hand on McCoy's arm, and for a minute they just looked at each other. Then, with a smile too much like his mother's, Reynard said, "Mom said you were blunt to a fault."

McCoy almost laughed. "We have that in common, you and I." He let his hand drop from the boy's shoulder.

"Yeah." Reynard looked down. "How long until they get back, do you suppose?"

"No telling. A few hours at least."

"Ugh. I don't want to even try sleeping."

"Well, neither do I." McCoy thought for a second. "Why don't we go down to Sickbay and see if we can find something useful to do?" Normally, he wouldn't bring a kid into Sickbay without cause. But this was Reynard and...well, it didn't _seem_ like a bad idea.

Frowning, Reynard said, "I thought you left duty."

McCoy sighed. "You're right; I did." He went over to the comm panel on the wall. "McCoy to Bridge."

"_Spock here._"

"Requesting permission to be reinstated as Chief Medical Officer, sir."

There was a pause. "_Do you feel capable of satisfactorily performing your duties, Doctor?_"

Rolling his eyes, McCoy replied, "Yes, Mr. Spock, right now I feel just fine." _I can handle myself now._ "Besides, when Jim gets back he's probably going to be a mess, and I'm the only person who can get him to sit still for more than five seconds straight. Which he will most likely need to do."

"_Very well, Doctor. You may resume your regular duties_."

"Thank you. McCoy out." Turning back to Reynard, he muttered, "Green-blooded hobgoblin."

Reynard let out a choked sound that might have been a stifled laugh.

* * *

There were only eleven filthy, raggedly dressed people in that passageway, including "Captain" Brandon. According to them, there were others "around here somewhere". But only twenty-seven had survived altogether.

No one stopped for in-depth introductions. Upon realizing that the people from the _Enterprise_ were in fact conducting a rescue mission, everyone fell into line.

Kirk contacted the other teams and learned that the other sixteen people had been found, nine in one cave and seven in another.

_Now it's just a matter of getting out of this place._

As they hurried along the twisty passages to rendezvous with the other teams, Kirk found himself alongside Rebecca Brandon. "How did you find us?" she asked.

"We found your ship and what was left of your camp." He ducked to avoid a low patch of ceiling. "Then we followed a Klingon vessel here."

She didn't respond right away, but when she did, her voice shook, "When you found the camp, did you…did you find any…anything else? "

"Yes. We found your son." He had been watching his feet, trying not to make any loud noises, but he chanced a glance at her. Her green-blue eyes met his with an expression that could only be described as pure terror. He hastily added, "He's okay."

Her gaze moved from his. "He's alive?" she said to the dirt on the tunnel floor.

"Yes, he's on the _Enterprise…_my ship. He's fine."

He had a feeling that if the situation hadn't been so dangerous, she might've fainted from relief. As it was, she stumbled. "I'm _fine_," she snapped when someone tried to assist her.

For a moment, some impish part of him considered flat-out saying Leonard McCoy's name to her and seeing if she actually fell down this time. He quickly discarded the idea; there were more pressing things to worry about.

Namely that the Klingons had finally realized a bunch of Starfleet personnel were wandering around their camp.

"Everyone run! Let's get the hell out of here!" Kirk bellowed, pulling out his phaser.

_This really isn't good._

He hastily grabbed his communicator with his other hand. "Shuttles, prepare for takeoff! We'll be there…as soon as possible!" He had no more time to talk.

He soon became immersed in the fight, everything becoming _action_, _reaction_ as he ducked missiles, fired off shots, and tried desperately to work his way through the huts and into the rocky landscape beyond. Out of the corners of his eyes he saw people running and fighting, illuminated by the light of phaser blasts.

At one point he tripped and landed on his face in front of a burly Klingon wielding a sort of battleaxe. The only thing that saved him was the fact that Rebecca Brandon retrieved his phaser and shot his attacker before the Klingon could get closer than a few feet.

Kirk let her keep his phaser, finding a Klingon weapon on the ground nearby that looked usable. "Thanks," he told the woman beside him.

"Thank me later," she snarled, shooting another Klingon.

Charging through the rugged plain, surrounded by panicked people, occasionally spinning around to shoot back at their pursuers, Kirk felt like hell. His face hurt from getting punched and then falling on it, his ribs hurt from where a Klingon had managed to land a glancing blow, and he was running off pure adrenaline. Fortunately, he had no shortage of that.

It seemed like forever before they reached the shuttles. "Go, go, go!" he screamed, waving at the others to get on. No time to organize anything, now. The engines were already firing up and the Klingons were not far behind.

Kirk found himself back on the lead shuttle as Sulu took the helm. "Do we have everyone? Just count heads!"

"We've got seventeen here!" someone yelled.

Liutenant Grant called, "Shuttles 35 and 42 report eighteen and thirteen, respectively!"

_It's a damn miracle, but…_"That's everyone! Let's go!"

He stumbled to the front of the shuttle, where found his copilot seat already filled by "Captain" Brandon herself. About to ask her to move, he remembered where'd she'd been for the last decade. _Sulu's got everything under control; unless something comes up, she can have that seat. _He sat on the nearest wall bench instead as the shuttle rose into the air in a rapid climb towards the atmosphere.

Outside, muted yells and shots could still be heard. "Captain, Shuttle 35 has been hit!"

"Damage report!"

"Minor hull damage, sir. They should be alright…"

"How are we doing with injuries?" He could see at least one security officer with a clearly broken arm, and the _Brigadier_ people all looked terrible. They'd probably looked like that for over ten years, though.

"Other shuttles report numerous minor injuries…One of the rescued persons in Shuttle 42 was severely wounded…"

"What's her name?" Rebecca Brandon called.

"Um…" Lieutenant Grant asked the question over the comm, then got the answer. "The others call her 'Alyssa'?"

"The irony," Brandon growled.

"Huh?" Kirk looked at her.

"She's the doctor…Well, she was a nurse. But she's the only doctor we've had for a long time."

"Oh." Kirk winced. "We'll get her to Sickbay on the _Enterprise_; she'll be fine."

The woman gave him a blank look, then shrugged and held out her hand. "I don't believe we've met. Rebecca Brandon."

He chuckled and shook her hand. "Jim Kirk."

Leaning back in her seat, she said, "Nice to meet you. Though, from what you said earlier...you already knew who I was."

"DNA test on your kid and your personnel file ID photo."

"Ah, I...see." Her gaze becoming distant, she vacated her seat and walked to the back of the shuttle to speak with her "crew".

_Should I call her back and tell her about McCoy? _He decided against it. _She'll figure it out soon enough._

Kirk breathed easier when they broke out into space once more. "It's only a matter of time before they fire up those warbirds and send them after us. Inform the _Enterprise_ that we're on our way and have at least one medical emergency."

"Aye, sir."

The captain took a minute to assess the general condition of his crewmembers and the rescued people. While the members of the away mission appeared exhausted and nervous, most of the persons they had rescued seemed to be going into some sort of shock. "Hey, Captain Brandon," he said loudly.

The woman in question stopped talking to a man with a thick blond beard and said, "I'm not a captain, sir. What is the problem?"

"I just wondered if…"

A yell from Sulu cut him off. "Sir, the warbirds are coming up behind us! They'll be within weapons range in…forty-five seconds!"

"Shit!" Kirk lunged over the comms panel himself, not waiting to give an order. "_Enterprise_, we need some backup _now_!"

* * *

Rebecca didn't like losing control. Who did?

It made her feel vulnerable, weak.

And at this point, she was dangerously close to losing what fragile hold she still had on her sanity.

She ought to feel overjoyed. After thirteen years, they had been found. They were being rescued, and she ought to be happy.

Instead, everything felt strangely unreal.

Everything started slipping shortly after she'd punched Captain Kirk in the face.

No, that wasn't right. It was after he told her that Reynard was safe.

The battle, running, introducing herself to Captain Kirk…it all slid past in way that was a little too dizzying. There were moments of sudden, shocking clarity…shooting the Klingon that went for Kirk, hearing about Alyssa, saying she wasn't a captain. The rest of the time, she honestly had no idea what she was doing and everyone's voices just bounced around her head, echoing and making no sense.

This wasn't adrenaline. Adrenaline made her at least feel more clearheaded. Right now she felt anything but.

Her brief conversation with former Lieutenant Evan Shaw consisted of her trying to ask for a sort of status report and trailing off helplessly as her mind spun in circles.

_So this must be what it's like to be free-floating in space._

She might love flying, but she'd give anything to feel grounded once more.

The warbirds' approach was almost a relief; at least now Evan could stop pretending that he understood what she was attempting to say to him.

It stopped being a respite when the warbirds started firing.

She felt the shots that hit, she felt herself being tossed around like everyone was in the shuttle, but she couldn't hear or even see properly. This was suspiciously like a nightmare, impossible to wake from. Most of her senses were stripped away, leaving nothing but simple, agonizing feeling. She had no control over herself anymore.

The last time she'd felt like this, she'd been giving birth to her son. The details were hazier than ever at the moment, but she distantly recalled being delirious and screaming Leonard's name over and over, not realizing then that he could not hear her.

Now she felt more like screaming wordlessly, but didn't have a chance to as she was thrown against a chair…_Chair?_ How had she ended up at the front of the shuttle again?

Flipping over, she found herself inches from the helm controls. No one else was even close to them anymore.

_Why is no one flying the shuttle?_

The realization that they were, in all probability, hurtling around space without being steered affected her like a jump into ice-cold water. Clarity was back.

She was in the seat almost before she knew what she was doing.

Navigation was her forte. But she could fly a shuttle just fine. At least, in Academy simulations and simple away missions…over ten years ago.

_Beggars can't be choosers._

Her hands found the proper controls. They were mostly familiar, if not quite what she'd been taught to use.

_I can do this._

Quickly, she worked to stabilize the shuttle, struggling to dodge Klingon missiles at the same time. It took a few moments...and a couple jarring hits from the warbirds...after which she checked the scanners.

_Okay, so we've sustained quite a bit of external damage…Three Klingon warbirds are right behind us…the other two shuttles are way ahead now…another large vessel approaching…_

Glancing up through the window, she let out a strangled yelp.

Like an avenging angel, a magnificent starship came swooping into view, forward phasers blasting in the general direction of the Klingons, who were returning fire. _So they're not just shooting at us now. _Rebecca saw the other two shuttles banking around the larger ship, presumably headed for the shuttle bay at the rear of the vessel.

_Follow the leader. Easy._

Until she saw just how small the shuttle bay doors looked.

_There's no time for a tractor beam…no one is taking care of communications right now, so…Shit, I've got to land in there myself?_

Then Captain Kirk stumbled up, grabbing the back of the copilot chair. "Not bad, Ca…Rebecca. Mind if I take over?"

"It's all yours!" She moved to the copilot seat as he took her place, but kept an eye on the scanners. They were getting terrifyingly close to the larger ship. "Where's the bloody pilot?"

"Got knocked out. Hang on, this isn't going to be…"

She stifled a scream as they hurtled into the shuttle bay, slowing at the very last second. The shuttle skidded a bit upon landing on its pad.

Once it had halted completely, she and Kirk slumped back into their seats, trying to steady their breathing. "You alright?" he said.

She didn't answer. Her heart was hammering in her throat so painfully that she couldn't speak.

Plus the dizzy, floating sensation was back.

Dimly, she heard people shouting, saw figures moving, felt someone taking her arm and helping her up. She allowed herself to be guided out of the shuttle, unable to focus on the people crowding near her and the muffled words issuing from her companions mouth. _Is he talking to me? Someone else?_

She ended up standing in a corner, thinking vaguely that she ought to check on her crewmembers. She couldn't seem to move, though.

When she did try to take a step, she ran into something…_No, wait, that's a _someone_…Wow, he's small for crewmember…red shirt, hmm…_and nearly toppled to the floor.

Someone else grasped her arm and steadied her. "Captain Brandon, I presume?"

She blinked up into a pair of dark brown eyes in a stoic face, complete with pointed ears and brows. _Oh. It's a Vulcan. _She hadn't known of any actively serving in Starfleet…

"Captain Brandon?" He sounded mildly concerned.

_I'm not a Captain! _she wanted to shout, but another voice cut in.

"I'll take her up to Sickbay, Spock, you can get back to the Bridge." Kirk stepped up beside her, taking her arm. "Come on."

She resisted. "My crew…" she mumbled.

"Most of them are already on their way there, and you should be too." He gave her arm another gentle tug. "Your crew is safe, Rebecca."

_Safe. Okay. _She allowed herself to be led into the nearest turbolift.

At some point, while they were on a long raised walkway, she stopped and glanced around, completely focused on something she'd noticed earlier. "You have a beautiful starship, Captain Kirk."

He grinned at her. "Thanks. I know I do." A bruise on his left cheekbone was clearly visible from where she'd decked him earlier.

_Ouch. If I'd known who it was…that it wasn't a Klingon…_Her thoughts trailed off again as they began walking once more.

She hardly noticed when they entered a bustling room. People brushed past her, a couple even called out to her, but she didn't acknowledge them. Until…

"_Mom!_"

The world snapped into focus.

"_Reynard!_" she cried as her son rammed into her.

_He's okay, he's safe…_She'd been told so, but it wasn't the same as seeing it herself.

They both sank to the floor, wrapped in a fierce embrace. "Mom…"

"It's okay, sweetie, it's okay." She pulled back to look him in the face, brushing strands of his dark hair back. It struck her then how clean he looked; his clothes were plain grey and black, but new and tidy, his formerly-ragged and filthy hair was washed and trimmed. "Reynard, you look…"

He smiled sweetly. "The people on this ship have been taking good care of me."

"I can see that." She pulled him into another hug. "Oh, my baby. I was so worried…"

She barely heard his answer. "I was, too."

"Reynie!" she heard someone say. She released her son and stood up as he did likewise.

"Evan!" shouted Reynard. He ran over to hug the lieutenant he thought of as an uncle.

Watching him, Rebecca found herself smiling at last. _My son is fine, everything will be all right…_

Her eyes were still on Reynard when she heard a masculine voice yell, "Jim, what the hell did you do to your face? Don't tell me you started a straight-up fistfight with one of those Klingons!"

Something about the voice made her heart beat faster.

"No, Bones, it wasn't a Klingon. Your girlfriend packs a mean punch."

_What?_

Rebecca spun around, her gaze landing on Captain Kirk and the dark-haired man in Starfleet medical blues just beyond him. A pair of hazel eyes latched onto hers.

Once again, she couldn't move. This time for a very different reason.

She knew him...how he stood, how his eyes looked into hers. And yet it seemed so impossible; they were so many light years away from where she'd left him.

She felt like shouting his name so loud that it could be heard all the way back to Earth.

What actually came out was, "What the _hell_ are you doing in a Starfleet uniform, Leonard?"


	11. Breaking the Ice

_She's got a point._

McCoy's answer came out unbidden. "Let's just say you were a very bad influence on me, Rebecca."

She responded with a harsh laugh that ended in a sobbing noise.

Their exchange was drawing attention. Behind her, he saw Reynard standing next to a tall blond man, watching them nervously. Rebecca's gaze followed his, her head turning before she looked back to him. Her eyes silently asked, _You know?_

_I know. _He knew his expression was enough of an answer.

She let out a heavy sigh, eyes closing for a fraction of an instant. As for himself, he didn't dare even blink, lest she vanish like a mirage in a desert.

He'd thought she was gone forever. Then he'd barely dared to hope for her survival. Then he'd lost almost all hope again.

And yet there she stood, body rail-thin, auburn hair a solid mat down her back, face pinched and weathered from years of hardship.

He was hardly aware of stepping forward, of closing the distance between them, until he was looking down into her green-blue eyes. Hesitantly, he reached out and touched her shoulder, saying, "You'd better sit down…so I can examine you…"

He didn't expect her to suddenly throw her arms around him, knocking the breath from his lungs. But when she did, he dropped the medical scanner he'd been holding in one hand and hugged her back, wrapping her in the tightest embrace he dared to give, burying his face in her filthy hair.

For the longest moment, he had no need to worry, no need even to think. Sickbay might be in a frenzy, other patients might be waiting…but for a second he just didn't care.

_Rebecca's safe._

The moment ended when he realized that she was shivering. "Rebecca, you're shaking like a goddamn leaf. Sit down so I can examine you."

She released him hastily and stepped back. "Yes, I...of course." She didn't resist as he guided her to the nearest biobed.

He'd started hunting around for the scanner he'd dropped when Nurse Hill hurried up. "Doctor, the woman you looked at a few minutes ago…she just started seizing…"

"_Damn_ it! The one with the lacerations on the abdomen?" Getting a nod in response, he said, "Fine, I'm on my way."

He retrieved the scanner as the nurse said, "Would you like me to examine this patient for you?"

"No!" The nurse jumped, startled, and he added hastily, "No, I'll take care of this one later." He glanced back at Rebecca, who had a frozen expression that as he recalled meant she was most likely either going to clam up for days or go into hysterics. "Reynard, keep an eye on your mom, will you?" he shouted as he headed to the other end of Sickbay.

Fifteen minutes later, the emergency patient was stabilized and things were settling down. Almost all patients had been seen to and the palpable air of crisis-induced panic had dissipated.

_It's nothing short of a damn miracle that they all got out. _At some point he'd been informed that the twenty-seven rescued people in Sickbay were the last survivors of the _Brigadier _crash, the only ones found on the planetoid. No _Enterprise_ crew members had been lost on the mission, either.

Confident that no one was in danger of dying at present, he cleaned up and started back to where he'd left Rebecca, encountering the captain on the way. "Jim, did any one look at your injuries?"

"Yeah, Nurse Hill checked me out when you told her not to look at your girlfriend." Kirk flashed him a grin. "Just some cracked ribs. Nothing to worry about."

Some part of McCoy felt guilty for not checking over his friend himself, and also for not allowing Rebecca to be examined immediately. _But you could see that she wasn't severely injured, _he reminded himself. He didn't want to address the fact that he felt alarmed at the thought of anyone else even getting close to her.

Except for Reynard, obviously. The boy was sitting next to his mother on the biobed, one arm around her shoulders as he spoke to her, talking about his stay on the _Enterprise _in a rambling way that made him seem a little more like a kid than usual. McCoy couldn't help but smile at the sight.

He was just readying his hand-held scanner when Kirk gripped his shoulder. "Bones."

Annoyed, McCoy turned his head to find the younger man giving him a worried look. "Bones, I just thought I should…On the way up here, your…Rebecca, she wasn't…I don't think she's all _there_, Bones…maybe it's PTSD or something, but…uh, I thought I warn you."

"Thanks, Jim, but I can deal with this." _I hope. Though if she has PTSD of some sort, it's not really that surprising._

Kirk nodded, then left Sickbay to attend to his own duties.

_Hopefully those include getting us the hell out of the Neutral Zone._

Rebecca had been listening intently to her son speak, but she looked up when McCoy approached. So did Reynard. "Hi," the boy said brightly.

"He 'kept an eye on me' quite well." Rebecca said with a faint smile.

"So I noticed. Reynard, can you move over a bit? Thanks." The doctor ran the scanner over Rebecca a few times, double-checking every reading.

She was bruised, battered, and about alarmingly lighter weight-wise than she'd been when he last saw her. She had a few very minor bacterial infections and was undernourished. He had a feeling all her companions were similar condition. Her clothes…what appeared to be the remains of a_ male_ Starfleet uniform…were so filthy that their original color was indiscernible.

_Goddamn desert planet aged her thirty years. _Not that any other climate would've helped all that much.

For the most part, the three remained silent during the examination, until Reynard asked, "Can I go talk to the others?" The question was directed at McCoy. "I've only spoken to Evan so far."

"Sure, if they're awake."

Reynard smiled and hurried off to speak with the nearest conscious survivor from the _Brigadier_, a mousy-haired woman who looked delighted to see him.

Resuming his examination, McCoy commented, "I'd say they're all fond of him."

"The one kid among thirty adults; he was bound to be spoiled," Rebecca replied hoarsely.

"Well, I wouldn't say he's _spoiled_. Actually he's quite…grown-up for his age." McCoy sighed and stepped back. "The only remotely serious injuries I can find are some partially-healed cuts on your upper back and shoulders…the Klingon attack on Quirinus IV?"

"Klingon attack, yes…but…'Quirinus IV'?" Then comprehension dawned on her face. "That's the planet's designation?"

"Yeah," he replied, looking around for a dermal regenerator.

He worked quickly, giving her a couple hyposprays afterwards just for safety. A quick look around told him that Reynard was still conversing with some of his old friends. Sickbay was growing very quiet again as most of the patients fell asleep. _They definitely need rest; still, we can move most of them out when they wake up…_

"How's the patient?" Rebecca croaked.

"Which one?"

"The…the patient you ran off to see…"

"Oh, yeah. She lost a lot of blood, but she'll be all right. Eventually. Someone said her name was…Alyssa?"

"Alyssa Beckman. Formerly a nurse aboard the _Brigadier_." Rebecca swallowed with obvious difficulty.

"I'll get you some water. I'll be right back." When he returned and handed her the water glass, something made him reach out and briefly touch her cheek.

Her empty hand came up and gripped his wrist so hard it hurt, keeping his palm against her face. She quietly drank her water, not releasing him. He didn't try to free himself.

She only let go when she finished the water. "Thanks," she said, giving the glass back to him.

He disposed of it and returned to find Reynard beside her. "Mom, you should rest," the boy was saying firmly.

"He's right," McCoy told her.

She looked up at him, and suddenly he saw what Jim had been talking about; her face showed the blank confusion of someone who wasn't quite sure what was happening. _How did that happen so damn fast? She was fine a minute ago!_

"Mom…" Reynard said, worry creeping into his tone as he gently shook her shoulder. "Mom?"

Her gaze remained unsure, her body strangely tense. _He's not getting through to her, damn it. _"Reynard, let me try." He sat down next to the woman, cupping her face in his hands. "Rebecca, you need to sleep for a while? I can give you a sedative but I'd rather not, so please just lie down and relax, okay?"

To his surprise, she shook herself and blinked a few times. "Len, I'm tired," she whispered.

"Which is why you need to sleep. Just lie back; I'll…_we'll _be here if you need us."

He slipped his arm around her shoulders, gently maneuvering her around and laying her back on the biobed. She was asleep in seconds.

McCoy let out a sigh of relief.

Reynard, who had slid off the biobed and come around the other side, looked at him anxiously. "Is she okay?"

"Has she ever done that before?"

"Gone all...fuzzy?" Reynard shook his head. "I don't think so…When she gets upset she sometimes gets really quiet, but not…not like that."

McCoy found a sheet and covered Rebecca with it; she barely stirred. "Most likely it's just the result of one long, terrible day."

"Or a terrible decade?"

McCoy looked at the boy. "Did anyone ever tell you you're too damn perceptive?"

Reynard glared at him. "Not to my face, but I'm sure you've been thinking it for days now."

"Fair enough," McCoy said. "Anyway, you should go to bed, too."

"Can't I sleep here?"

_So now the perfectly polite kid decides to get stubborn. Maybe because he has his mother back? Well, I'm his parent, too, aren't I? _"No. You're not technically a patient anymore, so you are going back to your quarters."

"I'm not leaving Mom!"

Wincing at the increase in volume of Reynard's voice, McCoy grabbed the boy by the shoulder and pulled him off to a corner as far from the patients as possible. "Quit yelling, okay? She's not going to wake up for hours at least, assuming you keep your voice down. I understand why you don't want to leave her, but you do need your rest too and admit it; after you finished being practically comatose when we brought you on board, you hated sleeping in here."

"More like I didn't get a chance to sleep with you swearing up a storm in your office…"

"That was _one_ time, damn it!" Several nurses moving about their duties halted, startled.

"Now who's yelling?"

_Is he by any chance _smirking_ at me?_

"Is there a problem, Doctor?" He looked up from Reynard to find Lieutenant Uhura watching them with a concerned expression.

"Uhura, would you mind taking Reynard to his quarters? And making sure he goes to bed? I'm staying with his mother."

Uhura's gaze flitted over to the rows of biobeds, coming to rest on Rebecca for an instant. "Oh, certainly…Reynard…"

"But I want to stay _here,_" Reynard whined.

Sympathetically, Uhura stepped forward and put an arm around his shoulders. "Reynard, it's for the best. I suppose your mom will be asleep for a while?"

"Yes, but…"

"Then you should get some rest, too. I'm sure you can come back before she wakes up again."

The boy's shoulders slumped. "Okay…If she does wake up before I come back, you'll tell me, right?" He glared, this time a bit halfheartedly, at McCoy.

"Of course I will."

Reynard nodded. "Can I…Can I check on her again? I won't wake her."

"Go ahead." _He won't disturb her._

As the boy stepped over to his mother again, Uhura asked softly, "How is she?"

"She'll be fine." McCoy ran a hand over his face. "Uhura, why…why did he listen to you and not me?"

Uhura shrugged. "I don't know…Maybe because I'm not his father?"

McCoy rolled his eyes. "If that's the case, I'm doomed."

The lieutenant laughed. "I'm sure his mother will help keep him in line. When his already existing manners don't."

_Unless Rebecca decides that she doesn't want me around him._

It was a damn stupid worry to have just then, and he knew it.

_Concentrate on Rebecca's well being right now. That's the most important thing._

* * *

The hum of the starship's engines gradually permeated Rebecca's consciousness as she awoke.

At first, she was bewildered.

_How long have I been sleeping? I have to get up at 0500 for my Bridge shift…I need to see Dr. Patel about the pregnancy…I have to hand in my request for medical leave…I should call Leonard…_

Then present reality caught up with her along with the itching of her still-filthy clothes against her skin.

_I'm not on the _Brigadier_…It crashed…I'm on the _U.S.S. Enterprise_…We were rescued…My son is twelve years old now…Leonard…Leonard's a doctor on board a starship…_

For a few minutes, she pursued that thought. _It makes no sense…He hates flying…He still hasn't given me a straight answer…I was a bad influence on him, indeed…Doesn't he still get airsick?_

"Damn it, man, why are we going back _there_?" His southern drawl drifted over to her from somewhere nearby.

_So Leonard is here…where's Reynard? _She drew in a quick breath, trying not to panic. Despite her internal admonishments that her son was no doubt just fine, she tensed, her heartbeat speeding up. It didn't help that her throat and mouth felt like they were coated in gritty dust and her eyelids felt as if they were weighted.

"Bones, it wasn't _my_ idea! Starfleet Command…"

"Starfleet Command be damned, Jim, we _should_ be on a direct course to the nearest starbase or even to Earth, _not_ to the blasted Quirinus system! _They_ just got the hell out of there, and now you want them to go back?"

"Oh, come on, Bones, you're overreacting. We're just going to pass through, do a couple more sensor sweeps, and then be on our way."

"Yeah, that kind of thinking _never_ ends up being wrong on this goddamn ship."

Rebecca finally pried her eyelids open, getting a blurry view of a white ceiling. She blinked, trying to clear her gaze while listening to the two men arguing.

"Bones…"

"Jim, we just got attacked by a Klingons and…"

"Yeah, and they're a group of pathetic criminals, Bones. There's no danger…"

"No danger, my..."

"No danger pertaining to what?" a much younger voice interjected.

The sound of Reynard's voice sent such a wave of relief through Rebecca that she managed to relax. Struggling to a semi-upright sitting position, pushing away the sheet covering her, she called, "Reynard!"

The next thing she knew, he'd dashed over, jumped up on the biobed, and given her a tight hug that reminded her that her entire body ached. She didn't much care.

As he pulled back, Reynard noticed her involuntary grimace. "Sorrym" he said. Then, his expression switching from apologetic to annoyed, he turned and said, "You were supposed to tell me when she woke up!"

"I didn't know she was awake yet!" Leonard stalked over, grabbing a medical scanner on the way. Behind him, Captain Kirk and an attractive black woman with a long ponytail observed the exchange, both visibly trying not to laugh.

Rebecca cleared her throat and muttered, "Because you were shouting at the captain?"

Captain Kirk let out a chuckle; Leonard shot him a glare. "How are you feeling, Rebecca?" he asked.

Glancing around as she considered the question, she noted that there weren't many patients resting in the medical bay besides herself; only about a dozen. "Where did most of my crew go?"

Kirk muttered something unintelligible as Leonard answered her, "We've been moving them out of Sickbay since they started waking up early this morning…it's almost 1400 hours now…most of 'your crew' are in surprisingly good shape. Now, I want to know how _you_ are feeling, damn it!"

"Like I need a shower." She grimaced as she gingerly scratched a spot on her scalp beneath her matted hair.

The black woman spoke with a smile, "That's easily arranged." Rebecca looked at her curiously, and she hastily added, "Lieutenant Nyota Uhura. Head of Communications on board the _Enterprise_."

Rebecca nodded, but wondered why the woman was there. "I'm not an alien life form," she said uncomfortably. _No translations are necessary, so why is the head of communications here?_

"She's Reynard's unofficial babysitter," Leonard explained, still scanning Rebecca. "Your vitals are fine, thankfully. When Reynard came in here…" He stopped, frowning.

"When Reynard came in here…what?" Rebecca demanded.

Leonard deliberately evaded her gaze. "It's nothing important."

"I don't believe you," she shot back.

_Funny. That was always _his_ line, wasn't it?_

After a tense moment, Reynard spoke up. "Mom, I'm fine. But I had…um, heat stroke and…"

Leonard threw his hands into the air. "Why are you so goddamn honest?"

Insolently, the boy replied, "I don't know. Why do you swear so much?"

Rebecca glanced back and forth between them, wanting to intervene but not knowing how or even if she should. Uhura and Kirk watched also.

Leonard snorted. "Whatever." Then, more quietly. "Smart-aleck kid."

"I heard that!" But the boy was grinning.

"Maybe you were supposed to."

Kirk was really laughing by this point.

Rebecca ignored him and rested her hand on Reynard's shoulder. "Heat stroke?" _I knew it was a mistake to just leave him under the trash…Rebecca, stop, relax. He's fine. _"You're okay now," she said, mostly to reassure herself.

"Of course he is. He's as tough as a damn alligator." Leonard put down his medical scanner. "Well, that's it. You can go, but I want you back for a checkup tomorrow…and every other day as long as you're on this ship, unless I say so."

Kirk gave her a sympathetic look. "Don't worry, he's been giving pretty much the same order to everyone who was on the planetoid. _Including_ me."

"Don't give me that look, Jim! Just because you're the damn captain doesn't mean you're exempt from my orders."

Rebecca's stomach chose that moment to growl noisily.

"Sorry," she muttered, her face growing uncomfortably warm as they all looked at her.

Reynard hopped off the biobed and held out his hand. "Come on, Mom. You've been assigned guest quarters next to mine."

"And while you're getting cleaned up, Reynard and I will get you something to eat," Uhura added with a smile.

Rebecca took her son's hand and stood up, but hesitated to follow him out of Sickbay. "Leonard…" she began haltingly.

He met her gaze with a pained look. "We'll talk later, Rebecca. I promise."

"Okay." _He promised._

* * *

If he wasn't accustomed to the insane amount of trouble the _Enterprise_ and her crew regularly got themselves into, Dr. McCoy might have been annoyed by the number of extra shifts he spent in Sickbay.

This time, it was completely voluntary. He didn't have anything to do in Sickbay besides monitor the few patients that remained, and they were doing well enough. But he didn't feel like sleeping.

To occupy himself, he looked over the list of the _Brigadier_ survivors and checked their individual medical records.

He was about halfway through the list when he thought of his parents.

_Hell, I should've thought of them sooner. They cared about Rebecca too._

Painfully, he reminded himself that the fact would have to remain in past tense for his father. David McCoy had died a few years previously. Charlotte McCoy was still very much alive, however.

Leonard hadn't seen or spoken with her as regularly as he should have since his father's death. Less than a year afterwards, he and Jocelyn had divorced and he had joined Starfleet. He hadn't had much time to devote to what remained of his family. After the Academy, he'd had even less time.

_Oh, God…_He groaned. Not only would he have to tell his mother that Rebecca Brandon was still alive, he'd also have to tell her about Reynard.

_My mother may be a very understanding person, but goddammit…it's going to be an awkward conversation._

He had to call her.

_I can afford to wait a little longer…until I figure out what the hell Rebecca intends to do with herself now…_

The sound of the door sliding open interrupted caused him to look up. As if his thoughts had summoned her, Rebecca stood in the doorway. "Hey," she said.

"Hey."

"Mind if I come in?"

"Not at all."

She smiled stiffly and walked in, taking up a position next to his desk, leaning against the wall, her eyes on the floor.

In the silence that followed, he noted that she looked much better in a black turtleneck sweater and grey leggings, her hair pulled back out of her face. Though now that the dirt was removed from it, he could discern strands of grey weaving through the reddish-brown.

It upset him far more than it should have.

Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you. Much better. How are the patients?"

"They're all doing fine."

"Good." She shifted her weight. "I…I tried going to bed, but I couldn't sleep."

"I see. Do you want a sedative?"

"No, thanks." She glanced at him sideways. "Is it time for that talk you promised?"

"I was thinking that was your decision," he admitted.

She crossed her arms over her chest, turning to face him directly. "And why is that?"

He didn't know how to answer.

They stared at each other for a minute, before saying simultaneously, "I'm sorry."

A moment later, Rebecca asked, "What for?"

"That's what I was going to say."

"You first."

_Isn't it supposed to be "ladies first"? _he thought, but refrained from saying it aloud. "I'm sorry that…I don't know, I guess I'm sorry for everything."

"Me too."

Another moment of silence passed. Then, "He likes you, Leonard."

"What?"

"Reynard. He…he told me that he likes you alright."

"I'm glad to hear it." _It's a damn relief._

Rebecca's gaze grew distant. "I never thought…I never really believed that you'd get to meet him."

_She'd lost hope. _He swallowed. "You did a good job with him. Raising him, I mean."

"I had help. Thank God."

"Yeah, but…Rebecca, you were going to tell me, right?"

She looked back at him, her gaze sorrowful but steady. "Yes. I was going to apply for medical leave and return to Earth…to tell you."

"Then what?"

"That would've depended on how you took the news."

"You didn't think I'd refuse…that I'd reject you?"

"I didn't know, Leonard! I didn't plan for it! I had no idea what I was doing or what you were going to do!" She looked down again, but he glimpsed the tears gathering in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

He stood and stepped towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Rebecca, look at me." She complied.

He had his doubts about voicing what he was thinking, but decided that he had to. "Rebecca…You didn't have to doubt me. I would have done anything for you. And for our child."

He'd never said it out loud before, and had hardly admitted it to himself, but it was the truth.

She laughed bitterly. "But I just had to go off and 'die' in a shipwreck, didn't I?"

He wondered if the sting of their old "joke" would ever fade now. "You survived. And so did Reynard."

Shutting her eyes, she said, "I'd thought I'd lost him, you know. When the _Brigadier _went down, I was sure…And then when the Klingon's attacked on the planet…I thought…" Her voice broke.

He pulled her into an embrace, feeling her slump against him once more. They stayed like that for several long minutes. When she finally pulled away, he said, "You should get more rest."

"Yeah, I know, I'll, um…I'll go to bed again and see if I can sleep now that we've…" She trailed off.

"Broken the figurative ice?"

She almost laughed. "Close enough. Goodnight, Leonard."

"Goodnight, Rebecca. I'll, uh, stop by in an hour or so and check on you…if you still can't sleep I'll give you a sedative then."

"Okay, thank you. We'll…talk more later?"

"Yeah, of course."

When he did check on her an hour later, he found her and Reynard curled up on the bed in her guest quarters. He watched them for a few minutes before tucking the scattered blankets around them and leaving.


	12. Found Out

McCoy was headed down to the mess hall for breakfast when he came across Uhura, who was headed in the same direction. "Lieutenant."

"Doctor."

They walked in silence for a minute or two before Uhura asked, "Have you spoken to Rebecca yet?"

He stopped mid-stride and turned to face the communications officer, giving her a glare that would have most people cowering in fear. Uhura just stared blandly back at him. He gave in. "Fine, I talked to her. For a few minutes last night."

"And?"

"And what? She just got out of a goddamn Klingon mining camp, Uhura!" A couple crewmembers passing by turned to gawk as his voice increased in volume by several notches. He glared at them; they fled. "It's none of your damn business if we talked or not or what we talked about, Uhura, so if you don't mind…"

Uhura interrupted him. "Doctor, I was just asking…It just seems like you two have a lot to work out, that's all."

He narrowed his eyes. _Yeah, and you're nosy._ "To satisfy your curiosity, Lieutenant…We mostly talked about Reynard." He started walking again.

She kept pace with him. "Well, that's start."

"Start of what?" he demanded, stopping in his tracks yet again.

Uhura looked a bit uncomfortable. "Look, I _know_ it's none of my business…"

"Oh, so we agree on that, then."

She ignored him and continued, "…but I was just thinking that…now that you have her back…"

He realized what she must be driving at. "Uhura, I haven't seen Rebecca in thirteen goddamn years. I have no idea what she's planning to do now that she and the others have been rescued. Hell, I don't know what _I'm_ going to do. What I do know is that I'm not pushing Rebecca into anything." He managed to shut up then. _Did I really have to spill all that to Uhura? Goddamnit._

But the younger woman wasn't finished with him yet. "I understand, Doctor. Just…while you and Rebecca are working things out, I'd suggest that you consider Reynard's feelings in your deliberations." With a toss of her long black ponytail, she headed down the corridor towards the mess hall, leaving McCoy feeling frustrated and maybe just a bit guilty.

It wasn't if he _hadn't _thought about Reynard's well being while wondering what the future held for himself and Rebecca; he had. Multiple times. If he and Rebecca didn't end up together after all this, how Reynard's situation might change or stay similar was a legitimate concern. McCoy couldn't help but think about it.

But the boy's _feelings_? Not so much.

_Uhura was right. Damn it. It's not her job to worry about it._

He was still irritated with the lieutenant…and himself…when he entered the mess hall. So absorbed was he in his internal grousing that he barely acknowledged anyone around him as he filled his tray.

Until a now-very-familiar voice piped up behind him. "Hi! Are you going to come sit with us?"

He started and turned quickly. "Good morning, Reynard. And that depends; who is 'us'?"

"Sulu, Scotty, Chekov, Uhura, and Evan, plus Mom and me. Oh, and the captain joined us, for some reason." Reynard looked up at him expectantly. "Well?"

"If you've got room at the table, sure."

It would probably be uncomfortable to sit down near Uhura so soon after their recent conversation, but seeing Reynard's broad smile, McCoy decided that it would be worth the awkwardness.

"Bones!" Kirk practically shouted as the doctor approached the table with Reynard in tow. "How are you this fine morning?"

"Well, I can see you're just dandy, Jim," McCoy replied. He was rather distracted by the fact that Rebecca had turned in her seat to look at him. For a moment he found it difficult to concentrate on anything but her eyes and the slight smile on her face.

Reynard moved to the table and sat next to his mother, gesturing for the doctor to sit between him and Chekov. Complying, McCoy found himself sitting across from Sulu, Jim, Uhura, and Scotty. The tall blond man he recalled as Evan Shaw was sitting on the other side of Rebecca.

"I tried to get Spock to join us, but no luck." Jim grinned and speared a piece of egg on his fork. "Maybe that's a good thing…I don't think Dr. McCoy can stomach a Vulcan at the table this early in the morning."

McCoy rolled his eyes and started eating as Scotty and Chekov started talking about some kind of engine efficiency test they wanted to run, with Sulu and Kirk chiming in occasionally. Uhura looked somewhat bored, but Shaw looked interested, as did Rebecca and Reynard.

Since he wasn't called on to join in the discussion, McCoy found himself paying little attention to the food on his plate and spending the next several minutes watching Rebecca. _She's controlling her food portions, which is probably a good thing for now…_He tried to keep his thoughts on her medical history and on the checkup he would have to give her later, but instead ended up watching her expression's changes in response to what the others were saying.

He was pulled out of his observation by Reynard tapping him on the shoulder. "What?" 

"Why are you staring at Mom?" Reynard questioned, a little _too_ innocently.

McCoy took a sip of coffee to avoid answering.

"Captain Kirk, how long are your sensor sweeps of the Quirinus system going to take?" Rebecca asked.

_Huh. Subject must've changed._

"We'll be on our way to the nearest starbase before this afternoon," Kirk assured her. "Most likely transport will be arranged there so you all can return to Earth."

"Good," Shaw spoke in a gravely tone. "It will be wonderful to go home." He placed his hand over Rebecca's.

McCoy's coffee mug hit the table so hard that the steaming brown liquid shot in all directions. Everyone jumped, startled. "Sorry!" he growled, seizing a napkin to clean up the mess.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rebecca extract her hand from Shaw's. "Are you all right, Leonard?"

"I'm fine!" he snapped.

A couple quiet, awkward minutes later, Reynard leaned forward in his seat said, "I've been meaning to ask; why do you call him 'Bones', Captain?"

The atmosphere around the table became more relaxed. Chuckling, Kirk said, "That's a funny story, actually. You see, the first time I met Dr. McCoy was on the shuttle to Starfleet Academy. He wasn't in a very good mood, and he started rambling on about the dangers of space, so I reminded him that Starfleet operates in space, and he said he had no where else to go, since…" Jim imitated McCoy's southern accent, "…'the ex-wife took the whole damn planet in the divorce. All I got left is my bones'."

Sulu, Chekov, and Scotty started laughing; apparently they hadn't heard the story before. Even Uhura looked amused. McCoy sighed and turned to see Reynard's reaction.

The boy gave him a wide-eyed look before glancing over at Rebecca.

_Ex-wife. Oh. _"Shit!" McCoy swore under his breath.

No one was laughing anymore as the extremely pale woman started folding her napkin and unfolding it over and over again, her gaze downcast. "So that's why you joined Starfleet. Nasty divorce."

The mess hall was always abuzz at mealtimes, but at this table, all was silent. It took several seconds for McCoy to reply, "Yeah, pretty much."

Rebecca looked up at him, her expression unreadable. "Anyone I knew?"

"No, you didn't know her."

"Well, that's a relief." She looked down again, before standing up abruptly. "Excuse me."

She left. No one dared follow her, not even McCoy.

_I don't have the right to go after her._

"Thanks a lot, Jim," he said, shoving his seat back. "I'm going to Sickbay."

"Bones…"

The doctor ignored the captain and left the mess hall in an even worse mood than when he had entered. He felt the gazes of the others follow him.

* * *

McCoy spent a few hours working, cursing at objects that didn't really deserve it, and trying not to imagine exacting gruesome revenge on Jim Kirk before Rebecca arrived in Sickbay.

The first time she'd come into Sickbay, after the rescue, he hadn't allowed anyone else to examine her. Now he was tempted to call for a different doctor.

Noting the way she was staring at him across Sickbay, he realized that doing so would make everything worse.

She didn't say a word when he told her to take a seat and began his examination. It only took a couple minutes, but the strained silenced was close to driving him insane by the end of it.

"How is the rest of my crew?" she asked quietly as he was finishing up.

"The ones I've seen so far today are fine." He didn't tell her that he'd had someone else perform the checkup on Evan Shaw. Despite knowing that he was overreacting to a simple gesture, he hadn't trusted himself not to start a fight.

_It's ridiculous. The survivors from the _Brigadier_ are understandably very close after what happened to them; Mr. Shaw holding Rebecca's hand was probably just an expression of friendship. _Why should McCoy feel threatened by it? He himself had embraced Rebecca twice since she'd come on board, but that could be taken for friendship, too.

"Who was she, Leonard?"

Startled from his thoughts, he stared at her. "What?"

"Who replaced me?" Her tone was quiet, yet menacing.

"Rebecca, I…"

"Who replaced me, Leonard?" Her voice rose in volume and pitch, attracting the attention of some nearby nurses. She sounded dangerously close to hysterics.

"No one replaced you," he responded.

"That's not what I heard earlier." While she looked close to tears, her eyes were filled with fury. "Reynard already knew about it?" The thought seemed to offend her.

"Yes. Because he asked." McCoy had the unstoppable urge to defend himself against her accusing tone, to make her understand. "Stop looking at me like that, Rebecca! Jocelyn was a mistake from day one. We never fit. I've known that for years."

She scoffed and said scathingly, "Well, everybody makes mistakes." She turned her gaze elsewhere. "Are you done, Doctor McCoy?" Far from the barely contained rage of a moment ago, her voice sounded merely distant and impersonal.

"Yes. You can go." But as the sight of her retreating back broke what little composure he had left. Starting after her, he said, "Rebecca, wait…"

She turned so quickly that he took a step back. "Leonard, just…stay away." She spun on her heel and left Sickbay.

He pulled his gaze from the door and found that he was being watched by at least a dozen people, mostly Sickbay staff members. "Goddammit! Don't you all have something better to do!"

They scattered back to their work as he once again locked himself in his office. This time, he managed not to destroy anything. 

* * *

_Fury. Pain. Grief. _The emotions caused her throat to feel swollen, making it difficult to breathe as her eyes burned with tears that she would not allow to fall.

A few times on Quirinus IV, when similar feelings had nearly overwhelmed her, she'd sneaked off to a cave about a mile away from the camp and screamed obscenities at the orange-green stone walls until her voice gave out. The rest of the time, she internalized her emotions.

Like she was doing now.

Rebecca strode stiffly down the corridors of the _Enterprise_, headed back to the quarters she had been hiding in for most of the morning and had only vacated when she had to go to her checkup.

In reality, she'd gone to talk to Leonard.

_And that was a disaster._

Before that, she had been going through Starfleet records, trying to catch up on the major events that she and the others had missed while marooned on the isolated planet. The last thing she'd read before going down to Sickbay was a report on the destruction of Vulcan. No one had mentioned to her before. 

So her frame of mind had been considerably more fragile than earlier, centered more around numb horror rather than rage. The thought of an entire planet and most of its inhabitants vanishing into a black hole made her feel ill. She'd been to Vulcan, and it was difficult to realize that the reddish-brown planet she'd once watched out the _Brigadier_'s viewscreen for five days straight was simply…gone.

She couldn't even imagine what it must be like for the remaining Vulcans…including the first officer of the _Enterprise_.

After speaking with Leonard, however, she went right back to being angry.

The minuscule part of her mind which remained sensible tried to tell her that she was being idiotic by not bothering to try seeing things from Leonard's point of view.

_How dare he…He didn't even have the decency to tell me last night when I talked to him…and "Jocelyn"? What kind of name is Jocelyn? If it was a mistake why didn't he catch it sooner, before he married her and a divorce became necessary? And how soon after I…after I disappeared did he marry her? Maybe I should just ask Reynard; he seems to know everything already…_

"Hey, Captain Bra…Rebecca!" Kirk came up to her with a sheepish expression.

_Probably feeling guilty about this morning. No need; I had to find out somehow, didn't I? _"Yes, Captain?" 

"We're leaving the Quirinus system in a few minutes, so I wondered if you'd like to come up to the Bridge and take a 'last look' at Quirinus IV. Lieutenant Shaw and Reynard are up there already, I think."

_Why the hell would I want to see that planet again, now or ever? _Strangely enough, though, she did. _One last look…_"Fine."

Arriving on the Bridge with the captain, Rebecca found not just Evan and Reynard, but most of her remaining crew lined up behind the front stations. Most of them greeted her; she responded with a quick smile and a nod as she went over to stand next to Reynard, who slipped his hand into hers.

Taking the command chair, Kirk said, "Mr. Sulu, take us out of the system, going past Quirinus IV on the way."

"Aye, Captain."

The hum of the ship's engines increased a bit as it picked up speed. Moments later, a planet came up on the viewscreen...a mostly brownish planet with a faint purple tinge to the atmosphere. It nearly filled the screen for a minute…a massive rocky orb that seemed to glower at them…then the ship passed it, and it was gone.

_Goodbye, planet. Goodbye, burning purplish sky. Goodbye, having to get water from underground. Goodbye, rock lizards, weird gazelles, and ugly plants._

She had no idea why she felt a tiny prick of sorrow.

"Okay, then." Kirk cleared his throat. "That was Quirinus IV. Mr. Sulu, set course for Earth, Warp 4."

Rebecca frowned. "Earth? I thought you said 'nearest starbase' this morning."

"Change of orders." Kirk spun his chair around to face in her direction. "Starfleet Command decided that they want us to take you all back to Earth right away."

Most of her crewmembers reacted positively to the news. Rebecca had mixed feelings.

_On the upside, it'll be a more direct trip for everyone. On the downside…_

She'd have to spend more time on the same vessel as Leonard.

_Is that really such a bad thing, though?_

That would depend on if she managed to speak to him again or not.

She left the Bridge then, seeing no reason to remain.

Evan followed her out into the corridor. "Rebecca!" he called before she got to far ahead.

Halting, she turned to meet his concerned grey-eyed gaze. "How are you doing?" he inquired, his low voice gentle.

She shrugged. "I'm fine. You?"

"Reynie gave me, Jack and Kita a tour of the ship this morning," he answered, referring to a pair of former ensigns from the _Brigadier_. "He seemed disappointed that you didn't come along."

She sighed, running her hand over her hair. "I should've; I'll ask him to show me around tomorrow." She paused. "Evan, did you…did you hear what happened to Vulcan?"

He winced. "Yes, I heard. It's…terrible."

"I agree, but…it's far beyond that."

Evan reached out and took her left hand in his right one. "I know." After another long pause, he asked hesitantly, "Dr. McCoy…He's Reynard's father, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is, didn't I…Oh, right, I never told you his name." Rebecca shook her head. _I don't think I told anyone. _"That aside, this is the last place I would've expected to find Leonard."

"I remember you referring to him as a 'land-lubber' once or twice."

"Well, he is. Was."

"Must've been. Took a divorce to drive him off-planet." Evan furrowed his brow. "Reynard mentioned him during our little 'tour'; said that he swears all the time but is nice enough. I suspected from the way he talked about the doctor that he knew…"

"Oh, he knows. He knows way too much for a kid that age." Rebecca sighed, glancing down at her hand that Evan still held in his. "I just don't know, Evan…"

"Everything will be all right. We're going home…can you believe it?" Evan smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. "You'll figure it out."

She looked back up at the man who she had long ago come to see as her second-in-command as well as her friend. "It would help if I could talk to Leonard without shouting or crying."

"You have to talk to him about Reynard. I understand that." His thumb rubbed over her knuckles comfortingly.

"Yes, but it's more than that," Rebecca said. "I…whatever Leonard has done…getting married included…we never…we were in a long-term relationship never actually 'broke up', per say. I was going to go back to him when I found out I was pregnant…and then the ship crashed, so…"

"That's true…but, Rebecca, he moved on. He got married…"

"And got divorced." 

"That's not the point, Rebecca. The point is this: He moved on. Like normal people do. You were alive but stranded; he didn't know that, so he went on with his life."

Evan's rational thinking was usually part of his charm, but it annoyed her in this case. "Evan, I…I may have been dead to him, but he wasn't dead to _me_! I can't just talk about Reynard…he's not the only thing Leonard and I need to discuss sooner or later!"

"Rebecca, relax." Evan put his free hand on her shoulder, stepping closer. "I can see you cared about him…"

The anger that had been pushed to the back of her mind on the way to the Bridge came surging to the forefront. Ripping out of Evan's grasp, she backed up a few paces. "I still care about him, Evan! It isn't in past tense for me!"

_It never has been_.

She whirled and fled down the corridor in the general direction of her quarters, narrowly avoiding a collision with Lieutenant Uhura. Other crewmembers scattered as she ran past, not stopping until she reached her quarters and locked herself inside.

Sitting down heavily on the nearest chair, she curled up, shaking, and wished, for the first time in her life, that it was easier for her to cry.

* * *

Reynard came to her quarters to sleep with her again. He'd slept with her every night for most of his life, until he was about ten. Then he had become a little more self-conscious and insisted that he sleep on the other side of their lean-to.

Rebecca didn't object in the slightest when he'd come in an asked to stay with her the previous night. She'd missed having her son so close to her. He had been a comfort in the initial strangeness of her assigned quarters.

Tonight, it took a little longer for both of them to fall asleep. Rebecca was drifting close to a doze when Reynard asked, "Did you talk to him?"

"Yes, sweetie, I did."

"How did it go?"

"Not well. I may have…I lost my temper."

"Because he got married to someone who wasn't you?"

_Ouch. Maybe he has a point? _Several hours had calmed her anger and pain somewhat. She thought about the question. "Yes…and no. I just…It reminded me how much things have changed, and that was painful."

"Oh." Pause. "Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I don't think you know this…I have a half-sister."

She froze. _He married, divorced, and had a kid in between? _"_What_?"

"Her name's Joanna." Reynard shifted around so he was facing Rebecca. His expression was serious. "She's seven years old. He doesn't get to see her much because he's in space all the time and her mother is, and I quote, 'a bitch'." Reynard frowned. "I don't think he meant for me to hear that last bit. I don't even think he means it, exactly...I think they just rub each other the wrong way. A lot."

Rebecca couldn't even think of an answer. She remained still, staring at her son, trying to process everything all over again.

_"…he moved on…", "I can see you cared about him…", "I still care about him!"._

_Everything Leonard's done since I've come aboard shows that he still cares about me…but does he care in the same way he used to? Or has he truly moved on?_

"Mom?" She struggled to focus on her son as he asked, "Do you still love my father?"

_Do I? I thought I did, for years…but now? _"Reynard, I don't know." It was the only answer she had to give.

The boy sighed, his hazel eyes sad. "He said the exact same thing about you." Rolling over, he promptly fell asleep, leaving Rebecca to her restless thoughts.

As a result of said thoughts, she was awake when Leonard came into the room hours later. _I thought I locked the door behind Reynard…Wait, I'm being stupid. Leonard's the CMO; most likely he has access codes for almost every door in the ship._

She faked sleep as he readjusted the blankets to cover her and Reynard more thoroughly. Then he left, only stopping to utter a soft "goodnight" which she could hardly hear.


	13. Interaction

After a day wasted by lurking in her quarters, Rebecca was more than willing to have Reynard show her around the ship the next morning. As of yet all she had seen besides Sickbay, her quarters, the mess hall, and the Bridge were the corridors between those locations.

Her son showed her the rest of the vessel, and managed to confirm her much-earlier observation: the _Enterprise_ was a magnificent ship.

If she had to compare, the _Brigadier_ wouldn't even come close, technologically speaking.

The thought of the burnt remnants of the older ship…looming over the desert plain on Quirinus IV, a constant reminder of isolation, of failure…upset her. She pushed it aside.

On their way to Engineering, she commented, "Judging by the greetings you've been getting from just about every other crewmember we've passed, you've been endearing yourself to people here."

Reynard smiled. "I've been exploring a lot, so I've met a lot of people. I like it here. There's something incredible about the way everyone and everything fits together on a fully-functioning starship, isn't there?"

She laughed softly and put her arm around his shoulders. "Yes, Reynard, there certainly is."

Down in Engineering, she met Mr. Scott and Keenser, who she realized was the diminutive crew member she'd tripped over when she'd first come aboard. She apologized for her misstep, and was relieved that the Roylan didn't seem to upset about it. _Though it's difficult to tell with faces like that…_

"You've got a smart lad, ma'am," Mr. Scott told her. "Reynard here could have a good future in engineering, if he were so inclined!"

Rebecca smiled and said, "Yes, I know he's smart." His intelligence would enable him to make a place for himself wherever they ended up. It would allow him to adapt.

Sometimes, however, she felt she'd willingly trade Reynard's cleverness and even his impeccable manners for him to be a "normal" child, with a normal childhood.

At the end of their tour, they went up to Sickbay so she could be examined yet again and so they could visit Alyssa, who was recuperating speedily.

Rebecca was equally disappointed and relieved to discover that Leonard wasn't on duty. The relief came from the realization that this wouldn't be another uncomfortable checkup, though Reynard could've helped with that.

As for the disappointment…she wasn't sure what to make of that. It wasn't as if she _wanted _an excuse to yell at Leonard…or start crying in his presence, for that matter.

_I might be imagining it, but Reynard looks disappointed, too._

Nevertheless, Dr. M'Benga was pleasant enough, and it wasn't long before Rebecca and Reynard were headed up to the mess hall together, still in a pleasant mood.

"Mom?" Reynard said as they joined the lunch line.

"Yes, Reynard?"

"We're on a course to Earth, right?"

"Last I heard, yes."

"Do you think I'll like it there?"

"It's very different from where we've been living, Reynard. But…" She trailed off, images of the blue-green planet as viewed from a starship, the silvery moon in a dark sky, bustling San Francisco, and a sleepy little town in Georgia filling her mind for a moment. "It's home. However much I love flying, Earth's still home." She'd loved her starship. But on Quirinus IV she'd often longed to be back on Earth. _And with the one person who had always made visiting the planet worthwhile._

She gave her son a comforting smile. "Don't worry, sweetie. It'll be okay."

Reynard didn't smile back. "Earth's your home planet, Mom. Not only are you human; you were born there. But what's mine? Quirinus IV?"

_Oh, my baby. You think too much sometimes._

Any other boy Reynard's age would have most likely been embarrassed if his mother pulled him into a tight embrace in the middle of a public area with people all around. But Reynard just returned the hug. "I'm okay, Mom."

She released him reluctantly. "I know, sweetie." He was tough, resilient; he'd proven that already. He'd be fine.

_But will I?_

Yes, she was going back to the planet she still called home.

_But what's left for me _there_, really?_

Without Leonard McCoy, not much.

* * *

Dr. McCoy had been having a frustrating afternoon before Reynard showed up.

First off, he'd found out that Rebecca had come in while he was off-duty. He wanted to see her, even if he didn't necessarily want to talk to her.

_Or maybe I _do_ want to talk to her. Damn it! I can't seem to decide which._

Then he'd ended up having to examine Evan Shaw, who seemed as hostile towards McCoy as the doctor was towards him. As a result, those five minutes felt more like a standoff than an examination.

Soon afterwards, Jim Kirk came in, acting more hangdog than McCoy had ever seen him and, for once, actually _apologizing_.

"Look, Bones, I'm sorry. Really. I honestly didn't mean to mention your ex-wife to your former girlfriend…"

McCoy didn't want to hear it. _It's my fault, too_. He said as much to Jim with no success...the captain kept babbling...so he gave the younger man a harmless hypo to shut him up.

It worked…at least, Jim stopped apologizing and started cursing, which was an improvement given the circumstances.

And when McCoy had finally gotten the routine checkups finished and was getting started on his paperwork, Reynard marched into his office. "Hello," the boy said as hopped up and perched on the edge of the desk.

McCoy leaned back in his seat, tossing his PADD onto the desk with a sigh. "I ought to get another damn chair in here."

Reynard cocked his head to one side. "That's probably a good idea."

McCoy shook his head slightly. _Taking things too damn literally…he'll be quoting the hobgoblin next. _"What do you need, Reynard? Are you feeling alright?" A bit of concern made its way into his voice.

"_I'm_ fine." Reynard crossed his arms over his chest. Bluntly, he said, "You really ought to talk to Mom again."

McCoy groaned and dropped his head into his hands. "Reynard, it's not that damn simple."

"Actually, if you think about it, it is. Neither you nor Mom are certain of your feelings towards each other, and you'll never know for sure unless you two don't interact more."

McCoy lifted his head at stared perplexedly at his son. "So, that's your solution? Rebecca and I should 'interact more', and we'll figure things out?"

Reynard shrugged. "It's just an idea."

"Noted." McCoy picked up his PADD again and began scrolling through medication lists.

"I told Mom about Joanna."

McCoy dropped the PADD again. "You did _what_?" He didn't wait for an answer. "How did she take it?"

"Hmm…better than she took the news that you got married after she supposedly died."

"Oh, God."

"You've got nearly four more days until we reach Earth at present course and speed. After that you might not have a chance to talk to her, to figure out what it is you both want."

McCoy recalled Uhura's words. _Consider Reynard's feelings…_"What is it that _you_ want?" 

His gaze intense, the boy replied, "I'd settle for two parents."

McCoy exhaled. "Look, Reynard…you've got them." _Though maybe not in the way you mean. _"Whatever happens, we'll both be there if you need us. But beyond that, what do you want?"

Reynard didn't reply immediately, and when he did, it wasn't a direct answer. "When Mom talked to me about you, I liked it partially because I knew Mom would smile when she was thinking about you. She doesn't smile much." Then he smirked. "I suppose you swore every time you thought about her?"

"Given my view on the situation, can you blame me?"

"No, not really."

"Back to the real subject…the last time she and I spoke, your mom told me to 'stay away'."

Drumming his fingers on the edge of the desk, Reynard said, "She told me. She said that she lost her temper."

"So you're saying she didn't _really_ mean it?"

"More or less."

"Damn it, Reynard! What do you want me to do?"

The boy slid of the desk. "You could start by joining Mom and I for dinner in the mess hall at 1900 hours." 

"Is Evan Shaw going to be there?" _If so…_

"No, I don't believe so." Reynard looked worried. "Mom's acting more pissed at him than at you, for some reason. Uhura might join us."

_I can stand Uhura. _"Okay. I'll be there."

"See you then." Reynard looked extremely pleased with himself as he walked out of the office.

Then McCoy thought of something. "Hey, Reynard!"

"Yes?" the boy called back.

McCoy grinned to himself. "Watch your language!"

He could hear the boy laughing all the way out of Sickbay.

* * *

Dinner went fairly well. At least, he and Rebecca managed a polite conversation without once shouting or getting close to tears. Afterwards, he walked her back to her quarters. Reynard came along, as he apparently wanted to stay the night with his mother again.

Later, when he was sure they were both asleep, McCoy sneaked into room to check on them again.

The next day, McCoy was on duty when Rebecca came in for her checkup.

Their conversation was more varied and cordial this time.

"Leonard, is there any real reason that all of my crew members must come in here every day?"

"It's just a precaution."

"They're starting to complain about it."

"Well, they can just deal with it. Oh, and I'm discharging Alyssa Beckman today."

"That's good."

The only tense moments came when Rebecca was getting ready to leave and asked McCoy how his parents were doing.

"My mother is doing alright...still living in the old house. I'm planning to call her soon…Dad died a few years ago. Incurable form of cancer." _No use dragging it out._

Rebecca gasped. "Oh, Len…" she whispered. She stepped close and hugged him. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Yeah, well…" He took a deep breath as she let go of him and stepped back. "He always liked you, Rebecca."

"He was always so nice to me. Both of your parents were."

_Because they adored her almost as much as I did. _"I remember he asked me once why I was being such a damn fool and if I was ever going to stop dilly-dallying and ask you to marry me."

"Oh, I think I overheard that conversation. That one shore leave I spent at your house, right? Your mother and I were in the next room when he said that."

He chuckled. "Neither of them were very damn subtle about wanting us to get hitched."

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence as they realized exactly what they'd been talking about.

"Um…I'll told Reynard I'd…I'll see you later, Leonard." Blushing, Rebecca rushed out of Sickbay.

At lunch a couple hours later, they steered clear of mentioning that little chat. They could barely meet each other's eyes, either; thankfully Reynard and Uhura were there to keep the conversation going.

_Goddamnit, we're responsible adults! We should be able to talk about our pasts without acting like…like that._

Though he was still embarrassed hours later, he caught himself grinning over Rebecca's reaction several times.

_Damn it!_

They were "interacting", all right. But so much remained unsaid.

* * *

That afternoon, an accident in Engineering directly caused the injury of multiple crewmembers and indirectly caused Dr. McCoy to miss dinner.

Rebecca wasn't pleased about it, but reminded herself sternly that Leonard's duty as CMO took precedence over her in this instance.

But she was already rather upset over receiving the news of David McCoy's death and the subsequent discussion, so when Reynard told her he was going to try sleeping in his quarters that night, it took every ounce of her self control not to break something.

_I know he's growing up and all…but I just got him back..._

Once she'd calmed down, she realized that being alone in her quarters that night would give her an excuse to do something she'd been considering for a couple days now.

Consequently, she was sitting in an armchair, wide awake, when Leonard McCoy broke into her quarters again.

The lights were dimmed to almost nothing, so he didn't notice her until she said, "Back again, Leonard?"

He let out a strangled yelp and jumped back, falling into the nearest wall. "Rebecca! What are you still doing up?"

"Lights, fifty percent," she said, standing as the brightness increased. "I was waiting for you to come sneaking into my quarters. Again."

He stared at her incredulously for a moment, then sighed. "You were faking sleep last night." 

"And the night before." Suppressing a grin, she crossed the room to him. "And I'm assuming you came in the first night I was assigned to these quarters, too. You said you were coming by that night…but you didn't say you were going to unlock the door and come in if I wasn't awake."

Looking mildly abashed, he muttered, "Yeah, I did. Sorry." Then, more defensively, "I only did it to make sure you were okay."

She allowed herself to smile now. "Leonard, I can't decide whether that's absurdly sweet of you or just plain creepy."

He rolled his eyes. "Is Reynard in here?"

"No, he's in his quarters tonight." She paused. "How are the injured crewmembers? From the Engineering accident?"

"None of them were severely injured, thank God. They're fine."

"Good."

There was a long pause during which they simply stared at each other. What Leonard was thinking Rebecca could only guess, but her own thoughts were occupied with the knowledge that any minute now, he was going to leave her alone.

_I don't want him to go._

"Well, I'll let you go to bed now," he said awkwardly, turning towards the door.

For a split second, Rebecca felt as if her entire life pivoted on this moment; as if what she decided to say now would not only affect tomorrow or the day after, but every day that she ever lived to see.

Perhaps it did, perhaps it didn't. But she had no time to consider her options carefully.

She made her choice anyway. "Leonard?"

"Yes?" He turned back to her.

"Will you stay with me?" It came out a lot softer and more pitiful than she would have preferred.

He gaped at her for a long moment, before saying, "Okay."

_I was almost expecting him to say no._

But hadn't he told her that he would have done anything for her?

_He was talking about thirteen years ago. Though, maybe, it still applies now._

Leonard was clearly uncomfortable as he silently followed her into the bedroom, discarded his boots, and climbed into the bed next to her.

"Lights, five percent." Rebecca said as he shifted around on the other side of the bed. With the room's illumination almost eliminated, she settled down on her side, facing away from Leonard. Another very strained silence ensued as they both lay almost perfectly still, not even daring to breath deeply.

_This is ridiculous. We'll never get any sleep if we stay this tense. _Experimentally, Rebecca scooted backwards until her back collided with Leonard's chest. She felt him jump, startled.

_Honestly, Len…_"Leonard?"

"Yes?"

"You can touch me, you know. I'm not made of glass." _Here I am, being the assertive one._

His sigh sounded almost relieved. "I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable." A second later, she felt his arm drape tentatively over her waist. She found his hand with her own and twined their fingers together. Leaning into him, she felt the tension in her body slowly dissolve.

_This feels about right._

His breath was warm against her neck as he said, "Goodnight, Rebecca."

"Goodnight, Leonard."


	14. Out of Warp

Dr. McCoy woke up with a numb arm and the vague sensation that he was being watched.

Opening his eyes, he discovered that his right arm was numb due to the fact that Rebecca was laying on it. As for the sensation of being watched…that was probably because Reynard was sitting on the other side of the bed, staring at him over Rebecca's slumbering form.

_Oh, and he also felt the need to turn the damn lights on._

Not even remotely drowsy anymore, McCoy demanded in a whisper, "When did you get in here? And how?"

"The door wasn't locked. I woke up a few hours ago and couldn't go back to sleep, so I thought I go sleep with Mom again...I didn't expect you to be in here."

_But he looks pretty damn smug about it. _"She asked me to stay." McCoy tried to sit up and failed, since Rebecca was still pinning his arm down and he didn't want to wake her. "You're in front of the clock; what time is it?"

Reynard craned his neck around to look at the clock on the bedside table. "0730 hours."

"Oh, _shit_!"

"Are you late?"

"No. Unless another emergency comes up, I don't have to be in Sickbay until this afternoon. Still, I don't like it when I sleep in without planning to beforehand." He took a risk and carefully began to ease his arm out from beneath Rebecca.

"That sounds almost reasonable, except…"

Rebecca chose that moment to jerk awake with a garbled exclamation that sounded suspiciously like it included the words "warp engines".

"Take it easy, darlin'," McCoy said as she jolted upright and looked around confusedly. "And please don't tell me you were dreaming about warp engines."

Blinking, she made a face and grumbled, "What?"

"Never mind. Oh, and good morning."

She laughed. "Good morning to you, too." Glancing away from him, she said in a surprised tone, "Reynard? What are you doing here, sweetie?"

The boy shrugged. "No particular reason."

"He woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep," McCoy stated as he slid out of bed and looked around for his boots. Then, "What is that dirty look for, Reynard?"

"Did you have to tell her?"

Picking up his once-discarded footwear, McCoy paused. "Hmm…yes. I did." He sat down and began to put his boots on. _Because she's your mother and if you're not sleeping properly she needs to know about it. Shouldn't he already realize that, though?_

Technically, Reynard _was_ almost a teenager, so maybe the infamous teenage stubbornness was setting in.

_Or maybe he's just worried about upsetting his mom. Since it's Reynard, that's probably it._

"What do you mean, you 'did' have to tell her?" The boy sounded more curious than angry, however.

"I'm sitting between you two, you know," Rebecca said dryly. She reached out and took her son's hand.

"Reynard, if you're having problems sleeping, you don't have to be embarrassed about it. From what I've gathered, you've slept in the same…well, we'll call it room…with your mother your entire life…until you came on board the _Enterprise_. It's probably going to be hard to adjust." McCoy paused. "You slept pretty well when you first came on board, though. I recall not having to drug you."

"The first couple days I was exhausted all the time. Going to sleep then was easy."

"Yeah, that makes sense." McCoy stood and stretched. "I'll see you later." He glanced at Rebecca, catching her gaze briefly. For the first time since he woke up, he fully realized that he'd gone and fallen asleep in the same bed as her.

It wasn't the action itself that struck him as odd; they hadn't…_done_ anything, after all.

What seemed strange to him was that it felt normal to wake up next to her. Minus the staring from Reynard, it had felt…almost nice. Comforting.

"Where are you going?" Rebecca inquired, interrupting his train of thought.

"First I'm going to change my clothes." He had slept in his standard-issue off-duty wear. "Then I'm going down to Sickbay just to check…I suppose I could meet you in the mess hall for breakfast? That is, if you're getting up now."

Rebecca nodded. "We might as well."

"I'll see you soon, then."

He turned to leave, pausing when Rebecca called out, "Len? Thank you. For staying."

"You're welcome."

As he passed through the next room to exit the guest quarters, he heard Reynard ask, "Mom, _why_ did you ask him to stay with you last night?" Once again, he sounded mostly curious.

McCoy would have liked to stick around and hear what Rebecca said in response, but he convinced himself to do otherwise.

_Eavesdropping doesn't feel right in this case, damn it._

He left.

* * *

"Captain, we have a problem."

"Come on, Uhura, I'm hungry!" Kirk complained as the linguist blocked his way to the mess hall entrance. After a very brief staring contest, which he lost, he sighed and grumbled, "Fine, what is it?"

Uhura, her expression between disgusted and exhausted, said quickly, "Ever since our rescue attempt succeeded, people have been talking, making speculations. Yesterday, someone in our crew took a look at Rebecca Brandon's Starfleet records and did some more investigative work. As a result, between yesterday morning and today, almost everyone on the ship has found out for a fact that Reynard is Dr. McCoy's son. The _Brigadier _crewmembers already knew, from what Evan Shaw told me. But they weren't going around telling people. Now the entire ship is talking about it."

Kirk groaned. "Uhura, they had to figure it out sometime, right? And this is…well, the most obvious way for that to happen. An announcement or something…that would just be plain weird, so…"

"Yeah, it's just…" Uhura sighed, "I don't think Dr. McCoy and Rebecca know about it yet, and it's going to be terribly uncomfortable for them both." She hesitated, before adding, "I found out about the whole gossip thing very early, so I went to Dr. McCoy's quarters to warn him, and he wasn't there. So I checked with the ship's computer…he was leaving Rebecca's quarters. Someone told me that they'd seen him heading there late last night. That information is being spread around, too."

_Okay, I did not expect that. _"Whoa."

"Get that look off your face, Kirk. They didn't do anything; I'm pretty certain of that."

Though he personally agreed with her conclusion on a hunch, Kirk joked, "Why not? Granted, it's kinda fast…"

"Reynard was in there, too."

"Oh. So, no." _Not that I thought anything of the sort…_

"Exactly."

Grimacing, Kirk asked, "Can I go get breakfast now, Lieutenant? Or do I literally have to order you to hurry up and finish saying…Wait, are you finished?"

Uhura scoffed and stepped out of his way. "Yes, I am, Captain."

Kirk had soon retrieved his breakfast and joined Sulu and Chekov at a table; the last he'd heard, Scotty was down in Engineering, still investigating and repairing the damage from the explosion the day before.

There had been a time when many of the crewmembers would try to quiet down whenever the captain came into the mess hall. Before long, they'd stopped doing so when they realized that he made more noise than anyone else when he was in a good mood.

Today, however, he didn't speak much other than responding to Chekov and Sulu's cheerful greetings.

_They probably figured it out days ago…And now everyone else is probably wondering why they didn't figure it sooner…It's not like McCoy and Rebecca were even attempting to hide it…the nurses didn't talk about how they were acting together in Sickbay, though…_

Kirk wasn't surprised when all chatter ceased for a moment when the doctor, the captain-who-still-insisted-that-she-was-not-a-captain, and their "love child" came in. Whispers filled the hall seconds later, eventually fading back into normal conversations as time passed. The only people who did stop whispering right away were the ones close enough to the arrivals to get the full force of the McCoy glare.

"We've become the latest goddamn gossip item on this ship," McCoy growled, sitting down at Kirk's table with Rebecca on one side of him and Reynard on the other. "What the hell do you think you're staring at?" he yelled at a yeoman at a nearby table.

"They'll get over it," Sulu said wisely. "They'll talk it to death for a few days, then it'll blow over."

"Unless of course you give them more to talk about," Kirk couldn't resist saying.

He would have left it there, only he just had to make a response to McCoy's sardonic, "Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know…you two could make out right here in the mess hall."

For a moment, Kirk thought he'd gone too far. Chekov and Sulu let out uneasy noises while the looks he received from Rebecca and McCoy could have frozen an entire desert planet.

Reynard broke the tension by laughing. "Careful what you say, Captain. They might actually kill you."

"I wouldn't got that far, but..." Rebecca's face relaxed and she smiled angelically. "To quote your own words, Captain Kirk, I 'pack a mean punch'. Just remember that."

Only slightly chastised, Kirk returned his attention to his breakfast.

_Instead of issuing his own threat, Bones is simply giving Rebecca a…an adoring look? I've got to be hallucinating…or not…_

* * *

Most of the remaining crewmembers from the Brigadier had sought out Rebecca every so often as the _Enterprise_ sped towards Earth. For the most part, she was happy to speak with them, hearing about the calls they'd been able to make to their families, their plans for when they reached home again. By some blessed twist of fate, all of the other twenty-six survivors still had family to return to.

Unlike Rebecca. The only real family she had anymore was her son.

_And Leonard._

Perhaps that was why she couldn't decide what she wanted to do with her future, now that she had one.

Yes, some of the others were still working out the details of their plans, but at least they knew where they were going first: home. It was more than going back to the planet they had been born on, significant as that was.

They were returning to the people they loved.

_Isn't that where "home" is? With the people you care most about?_

The two people Rebecca loved most in the world were already with her.

Her love for her son was the love of a mother, unconditional, unchanging. Whatever the future had in store for her, he would stay with her until he grew up. She didn't want to imagine what how difficult it would be to let him go.

As for the other person she loved…

She had never found an exact term for what Leonard McCoy meant to her. "Friend", yes, he had been that for years, but she couldn't call him such after they had begun their romantic relationship. "Boyfriend" didn't quite fit, either; for whatever reason it made her uncomfortable to label him so tritely. "Lover" implied, at least to her, that he was nothing but someone she slept with, when their relationship was far, far beyond that.

To others, she had had to refer to him as one of those anyway, but it had been all right, really. When together, they had never found the need to label each other; they just _been_.

She wondered if it was supposed to be that way; if love was supposed to remain, to some degree, indescribable.

After another day spent going around the ship, talking to her crewmates, visiting different parts of the ship again, and stopping by Sickbay for the requisite checkup, Rebecca was a bit surprised, but not displeased when Leonard showed up in her quarters. She didn't even question it when he joined her in bed again. She just curled up close to him and fell asleep listening to his even breaths.

And when she woke before him, not yet ready to get up, she found herself pondering the meaning of family, home, and love as she lay between her child...who had come in sometime during the night again...and the man she still loved.

_I still love him._

The realization had been coming on for a while, considering that she couldn't think of the future without wondering _Will Leonard stay with me for any length of time? _right along with _How is Reynard going to handle all these changes? _Not to mention that she slept the best while in the same bed with him.

She had believed that they had both changed too much, but had come to the understanding that however much thirteen years of separation might have changed her view on life, her feelings for Leonard remained the same. Reynard's existence merely added another layer to them.

She brought herself to admit it inside her head that morning, just as she acknowledge the crushing fear that while she still loved Leonard, he might have moved beyond her.

_Is that truly the case? _He alone could answer that question.

Unfortunately, she didn't know how to ask, or if she even wanted to put him in the position to answer.

She might have stayed in bed thinking about it until Reynard and Leonard had woken up, if the door buzzer hadn't sounded. Moving carefully around Reynard, she got out of bed and when see who it was.

It was Lieutenant Evan Shaw.

_The one _Brigadier _crewmember who hasn't tried to talk to me during the last couple days. Not since I screamed at him in the corridor._

"Evan."

"Rebecca. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Come in? Just keep it down…um, Reynard's in the bedroom, sleeping." _Best not to mention Leonard unless I have to…_

Evan entered and stood uneasily in the middle of the room as she shut the door and turned to him. "What are you doing here, Evan? Is it about our crewmembers?"

"No." He shook his head, keeping his eyes latched onto hers. "As far as I know, all is well with them."

"Um…Kita told me that you had called your brothers…"

"Yes…" He smiled. "They want me to stay with them for a while…I've some ideas about what I'm going to do with the rest of my working years…nothing's set in stone…"

"Of course." She knew where the conversation would go now, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

Sure enough, Evan asked next, "What are you going to do, Rebecca?"

"It's still…I'm still undecided."

"I see." He moved closer to her, almost too close. "I may…Perhaps I could help you decide." He put his hands on her shoulders, gently rubbing her upper arms.

Rebecca had never been comfortable with people touching her, unless it was her son or Leonard. On Quirinus IV, she'd some physical contact with the other survivors. She'd relaxed around all of them eventually, Evan in particular. It seemed to be a mostly-subconscious awareness of trust.

But something about the way Evan was touching her now felt…wrong. She wasn't afraid; she did trust him, but it didn't feel _right_.

"Rebecca, I want you…and Reynard…to be happy. You deserve it, after everything you've been through."

"Everyone went through it," she said automatically, trying not to pull rudely away.

"I know…Rebecca, I just want you to have a real future, after it all. I want to help you…"

_I am a goddamn idiot._

As Evan's grip tightened, Rebecca mentally cursed her stupidity.

_It's so ironic. I've finally sorted out my feelings, more or less, and Evan comes in here to proclaim his love for me._

She'd always attributed his kindness and patience to his nice personality. She'd thought he was doing his duty to the crew when he'd helped her make decisions. He had been.

But he was also in love with her.

_How damn long has he been, I wonder?_

"Evan…" She tried to take a step back.

Evan tightened his grip again and pulled her closer. "Rebecca, I…"

Her heart rate picked up. "Evan, please let go of me."

His grasp on her loosened immediately. "Wait, let me explain…"

"You heard her. Let her go. Now."

The lieutenant released her and spun around. Leonard had come out of the bedroom, giving Shaw a ferocious glare.

Stifling a sigh of relief, she ducked around her second-in-command and went to stand somewhat between the two men.

Evan's face had gone purple. "So," he ground out, "That's how it is, then. I heard you were visiting her quarters late, but I'd hoped you were just…How long have you been sharing her bed, Doctor? Since her first night aboard?"

Leonard didn't even flinch. "We slept together last night and the night before. As in, we fell asleep in the same bed and nothing else. And it's none of your goddamn business, Shaw."

"You…"

The conversation might have gotten very ugly very fast if the ship hadn't suddenly given a violent jerk, sending everything and everyone careening violently to one side.

Rebecca recognized the feeling of a ship dropping out of warp.

_But way too fast._


	15. The Way I Feel

By the time the ship had finished jerking and had righted itself, Reynard came scrambling out of the bedroom, his hair mussed and his eyes wide. "Mom, what happened?" 

Rebecca pushed herself to her feet, too distracted to answer. Evan seemed to be in a similar state, though Leonard had managed to stumble over to the wall comm panel. "Dr. McCoy to Bridge; what the _hell_ just happened?"

Lieutenant Uhura's voice responded a moment later. "_We don't know, Doctor; I'm getting calls from all over the ship. Something about Engineering…Wait, I've got reports of injuries…You're needed in Sickbay, if you aren't there already."_

"I'm not. Yet. McCoy out." Turning, he demanded, "Is everyone alright in here? Rebecca? Reynard?"

Unsurprised that he'd left Evan out, Rebecca glanced over at Reynard, just in case. "We're fine." she said, observing that the boy looked shaken but uninjured.

McCoy nodded and rushed out.

Rebecca remained indecisive for an instant. The sound of the ship's hull groaning was enough to convince her; she couldn't sit in her quarters and quietly wait for news.

"Reynard, stay here," she called over her shoulder as she dashed after the doctor.

Both Reynard and Evan shouted something as she left the room. She couldn't make out their words.

She quickly lost sight of Leonard as they entered the more crowded corridors on the way to Sickbay, but she still headed in that direction, dodging past the crewmembers rushing every which way. The ship was on red alert; the wail of the alarms echoed in Rebecca's ears. The air of the whole situation was dreadfully familiar, invoking in her absolute terror.

Then she saw James T. Kirk running towards Engineering.

She stopped in her tracks, considering her next move. _I'd be less than useless in Sickbay…but at least in Engineering I might be able to find out what is going on._

Never mind that she shouldn't be running around the ship during an emergency when she was a guest and nothing more. The entire situation had brought out an ingrained need to be useful. _Something that got trained into me at some point._

She went after the captain.

If the upper decks had been chaotic, Engineering was ten times worse. Shouts and screeching alarms reverberated off the walls, acrid smoke filled her nostrils, and through the hazy air, she could make out figures moving about frantically, clustering around control panels or scrambling past each other.

Instinctively following the loudest shouts, she found herself somewhere near the warp core, within earshot of Mr. Scott's semi-panicked voice.

"I cannae tell ye exactly what happened yet, Captain, but it must've had something to do with the explosion the day before yesterday…"

"And the efficiency tests before that…the tests and 'slight modifications' that _weren't supposed to damage the ship_, Scotty! I need to know how long it'll take for…"

Then something else blew up.

Not a very specific observation, but Rebecca had trouble being specific when she was being blasted off her feet.

* * *

Dr. McCoy was forced to push all emotional distractions into the background as he worked on the injured crewmembers who started coming into Sickbay only minutes after the initial "incident." From what he heard, the "incident" had been a series of explosions down in Engineering related to machinery malfunctions.

Since the ship's power was still working and the hull wasn't disintegrating, McCoy didn't really care about the details while he had patients to attend to. The number of severely injured crewmembers was comparatively low, but still more than enough cause for alarm.

_Well, at least whoever assigns crews to starships has the sense to assign ample medical staffs._

After a particularly grueling fifteen minutes spent working on a yeoman's badly burned arm, McCoy went to his office to change from his dirtied scrubs into the spare blue uniform he kept for emergencies. The rush of new patient had halted, with the least severe injuries being treated by the other doctors and nurses. The CMO had a few moments to breathe easily again before he began to make his rounds of Sickbay, looking over each patient himself.

His heart sank when he heard Reynard's voice across the crowded room. "Nurse Hill, have you seen Dr. McCoy?"

_What the hell is he doing in here? _Moving towards Sickbay's entrance, he called out, "I'm here, Reynard."

As the boy turned towards his voice, McCoy noted that Evan Shaw was there, too, standing just behind the boy.

The boy himself wasted no time getting to the point. "Where's Mom?"

McCoy barely managed to contain his initial burst of panic. "Isn't she with you?"

"She went after you."

"Damnit!" McCoy swore. "She's not here, I know that. Computer, locate…"

"Don't bother. I know where she is, Bones."

McCoy, Reynard, and Shaw immediately looked to the doorway which Jim Kirk had just entered. His hair and uniform appeared singed; other than that, he seemed fine. But his expression was somber. With the air of someone trying to get the worst over with quickly, the captain said, "She was in Engineering, Bones. I have no idea why or when she got there, but I saw her. It's a mess down there….The warp core's functioning, but they had to seal off another part of Engineering to avoid the core being destabilized. About a dozen people are still trapped…She's one of them."

_Goddamnit. _Terror…and anger…surged through McCoy. _Rebecca can't be in danger again…what the hell was she doing…._

He felt himself mentally racing towards a breaking point; another few seconds and he was going to destroy the first thing that came to hand.

Someone else lost their composure first.

Actually, McCoy had been expecting an explosion of sorts from Reynard for a while. The kid had incredible self-control, so it had never come.

Until now.

Without any warning, Reynard started screaming, lashing out verbally at anything and everyone in a nonstop stream of fury, utilizing an extensive vocabulary of swear words no doubt gleaned from years of hearing but being told not to repeat them.

Or maybe he'd just been listening too closely to McCoy for the last week or so. Hard to say.

His anger didn't seem to even be attached to anyone in particular; he just yelled at everyone. He attempted to run out of Sickbay, only to halted by the captain, whom he attacked viciously with his fists. Kirk, clearly dumbfounded and reluctant to retaliate, took it. Shaw tried to intervene and received a blow to the sternum that left him gasping for breath. Reynard paused momentarily, apparently confused and even a little remorseful at what he had done.

Then he resumed his raging, but that one instant was long enough for McCoy to get the boy in a firm hold from behind. It made Reynard struggle more, but the doctor had plenty of experience restraining difficult patients, and his son wasn't nearly as strong as many of them were.

Knowing perfectly well that every eye in Sickbay was on them and not giving a damn, McCoy managed to drag Reynard into his office. Shaw and Kirk followed, the former silent and stoic like a statue, the latter talking, or trying to, above Reynard's still-loud protests. _"We'll have them out before long, Bones…Scotty's working on it…"_

McCoy heard the captain's words but didn't acknowledge them as he worked to force Reynard to turn around to face him. By that point, Reynard had begun focusing all his fury on the doctor, shouting things that McCoy had barely even considered ever coming out of the boy's mouth. Things like _You hate me _and _You're planning to leave us _and _You never really loved my mother._

None of those statements were true, and McCoy realized that there was no way Reynard actually believed them. His own raging emotions melted away to be replaced by a terrible ache at understanding how Reynard was feeling, how scared the boy was. And he felt the despair that came with wanting desperately to dispel those fears, and not being able to.

It only got worse when Reynard's hazel eyes filled with tears and his angry shouts turned into choking sobs. His struggles ceased as he slumped forward. McCoy found himself on his knees on the floor of his office, holding up his son who was now crying onto his shoulder.

After a couple minutes, he looked up at Kirk. "Don't you have a broken ship to deal with, Jim?"

"Yeah. We'll get her out, Bones. We did before."

"Different circumstances," McCoy said halfheartedly to the captain's retreating back. His gaze then fell on Shaw, who was still standing near the door, watching. "You can leave."

"He trusts me. I can take him." The blond man's tone was filled with concern for the boy, but his eyes held a clear challenge.

McCoy took it. "No. He's staying with me until he says otherwise."

Shaw glared at him, but addressed Reynard, saying, "Reynie, I'll be in my quarters if you need anything." He left, sending one last dirty look in McCoy's direction.

Gently rubbing Reynard's shaking back, McCoy reflected that it was a very strange moment. In the last few minutes, he had for the first time seen Reynard scream and cry. And now he was embracing the boy for the first time. His physical contact with the child had been minimal before. Now the boy's grip on him was tight enough to be painful.

They'd waited for news about Rebecca before. That last time, everything had been mired in the unknown. They hadn't even known if she was actually on that planetoid. Now she was in peril in a location much closer, a place they knew and had perhaps even been more than once. Envisioning the familiar setting of Engineering as a place where Rebecca was now trapped, perhaps injured, perhaps worse…it made everything seem all the more real, all the more cruel.

McCoy was still trying to understand Reynard, nevertheless, he understood enough to know that the boy could not bear to lose his mother again.

And McCoy couldn't, either.

_But there's nothing either of us can do about it. _So he stayed right where he was.

Ten minutes or so later, Reynard stopped crying and pulled away, roughly rubbing his tear-stained cheeks with his hands. McCoy let him go and stood. The boy wouldn't look directly at him. "Sorry. I…I, uh, suppose you have work to do."

Glancing out the office window, McCoy noted that Sickbay seemed to be functioning without him. Still, he did have duties. "Yeah, well…Are you going to be all right?"

Reynard shrugged. "Can I wait in here?"

"If you want to."

The boy nodded, crossed to the desk chair, and sat down. "I'm okay. You can go back to your job."

He clearly wanted to be alone now. "Sure, call me if you need anything." With a final worried look, McCoy went back out into main Sickbay.

Less than twenty minutes later, Chief Engineer Scott showed up with a few serious burns and the previously trapped crewmembers. The worst thing any of them was suffering from was mild smoke inhalation.

Rebecca was fine. He locked eyes with her across Sickbay, his instantaneous relief subsiding into anger at her sheer foolhardiness. _How could you put yourself at risk like that? You should know better! How could you do that to your son? How could you do that to _me_?_

He didn't speak to her, but she seemed to understand exactly what he was thinking. Even when Reynard came hurtling out of the office into her embrace, McCoy still felt her gaze following him as he looked over the other patients.

He knew he should speak to her. But he was afraid of what he might find himself saying.

Throughout the turmoil of putting the ship and crew back together that prevailed through the rest of the day, he avoided her.

* * *

Leonard wasn't planning on going to Rebecca's room that night, even though his anger had gradually faded. But after he'd changed from his uniform back into off-duty clothing, he found himself walking the now-familiar route to her quarters.

Instead of walking in, he hit the buzzer.

A minute passed before the door slid open, revealing a weary Rebecca. "Leonard. I wasn't expecting you."

"I wasn't planning to come," he admitted.

"Come in."

They ended up facing each other across the front room, his arms crossed over his chests, her hands twisted together in front of her.

"How's Reynard?" he asked.

"He's in the bedroom." She gestured with her head. "He was almost more exhausted from today than I was."

He nodded, but didn't speak. They watched each other in silence for another minute.

"You're angry with me," she stated.

He snorted. "Yeah. But I'll get over it."

Nodding slowly, she asked, "Are you coming to bed?"

"If you want me there."

A slight smile from her was enough of an answer.

She led the way into the next room, sliding under the covers next to Reynard, who was already fast asleep. McCoy pulled off his boots and got into the bed beside her, but instead of moving close as she had the last time, she rolled over to face him. Both remained partially upright, tense.

"I'm sorry," Rebecca said quietly. "For putting you through what I did today. It just…I just made a split-second decision." She bit her lip. "It was stupid, I know."

"Yeah, it was."

"I shouldn't have gone to Engineering."

He chuckled. "True, but…things like that happen sometimes." Pause. "I…It's all right, Rebecca. I'm over it already. And all the stupid decisions in the universe wouldn't change the way I feel about you."

She smiled faintly. "That's…It means a lot to hear you say that, Len."

They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment. Then he leaned over and kissed her firmly on the lips.

It didn't last long, only a couple seconds, but when he pulled away, he kept his face close to hers. He didn't dare look directly at her for a moment.

When he did, she smiled and kissed him back, gently.

As they returned to gazing at each other again, all he could think was _I love you. _The words echoed around over and over, pushing anything and everything else into the background. He wanted to say it out loud.

But he realized that he didn't have to. Neither did she.

She smiled again; he did the same. Then she shifted around so her back was to him, cuddling close. He wrapped his arms around her as she reached for Reynard, pulling the slumbering boy nearer so all three were pressed together, connected. Safe.

They were a family, after all.


	16. Talking, Knowing, Loving

Sitting around waiting was one of Jim Kirk's least favorite activities.

Dealing with a damaged ship and a flustered crew…that was one thing. He could handle that; he had been trained for it, and he was good at it. The few days spent patching the _Enterprise_ together and finally arriving at Earth had been nothing compared the eight hours spent at Starfleet Headquarters two days later, waiting for the remaining twenty-seven _Brigadier _crewmembers to be debriefed after their "ordeal." Since he'd already filed his official report, Kirk didn't have to go through it himself, but he had decided last-minute that it was his duty to escort his former guests to headquarters and make sure everything went smoothly.

He was really starting to regret that decision.

For one thing, he wasn't allowed into the debriefings. Plus, it was being done one person at a time, which stretched the whole ordeal out longer than he'd anticipated. And considering that the crewmembers waiting for debriefing were in the same hallway with him, he felt a bit awkward about leaving. And he hadn't thought to bring even a PADD with him.

So he waited, bored, occasionally making stilted small talk with the others, wishing that he'd brought one of his command crewmembers with him. But Spock was off in a lab somewhere for some experiment-or-other, Scotty was still working on ship repairs, and Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov were out and about, taking advantage of the unexpected shore leave the _Enterprise_ crew had been granted.

And for some reason absolutely unfathomable to Kirk, Rebecca Brandon had flat-out refused to let McCoy come with her.

_I honestly don't get it…they've been practically inseparable the last few days…_

It had become obvious to just about everyone the day after the Engineering accident that something had changed between the doctor and Rebecca. They were far more comfortable around each other, and it showed more every day. Kirk saw them brushing shoulders as they sat close together at a mess hall table, linking hands as they walked down a corridor. And now whenever Rebecca mentioned her possible future plans, she seemed to include McCoy in them.

Perhaps the most obvious display of their affections occurred on the Bridge, of all places. As the _Enterprise_ had come within visual range of Earth, most of the _Brigadier _crewmembers came up to get their first look at their home planet in over a decade. The crowded room had been a very emotional place to be for a few minutes, and all the more so when McCoy and Rebecca had decided to exchange a rather lengthy kiss. Though they'd been standing near the turbolift doors, everyone saw them.

McCoy had pretended to be outraged by the number of whistles and jokes that came their way from the others on the Bridge...including Kirk...but in Jim's eyes, his friend hadn't looked remotely angry. Neither had Rebecca, though she'd been a bit embarrassed.

Whereas most kids probably would've been disgusted at their parents' display of affection, Reynard had appeared smug.

_Well, that's Reynard for you._

Upon arriving on Earth's surface, all of the _Brigadier _crew members...save Rebecca and Reynard...had at least one, if not several, of their family members waiting for them.

Emotionally speaking, the first sight of Earth was nothing compared to the ensuing scene on the planet's surface.

Shortly afterwards, McCoy had informed Jim that he was taking Rebecca and Reynard to see his mother in Georgia, as soon as any official proceedings had been completed.

Those "official proceedings" basically meant the debriefings.

Rebecca went last. And it took longer than it had with anyone else.

_Well, naturally. She's the captain._

Or not. She still insisted that she wasn't.

After some consideration, Kirk decided, _Bullshit. She's the leader, her crew calls her "Captain", and she calls them _her_ crew…yeah, she may not have been officially promoted, but she's the captain, all right. Never mind her ship crashed._

She'd stayed tense and for the most part silent while waiting for her turn in one of the meeting rooms, making Kirk wonder yet again why she hadn't brought McCoy with her. Reynard certainly wasn't the issue; most likely he'd have been just fine staying alone in the doctor's apartment for a few hours. But no, Rebecca hadn't wanted the McCoy, the man she was practically in a relationship with, to come along to what was bound to be a stressful situation.

_Kind of stupid, really. McCoy can at least get her to relax._

Partly because McCoy wasn't there, Kirk still was.

And while he was waiting, he got a call from McCoy.

"_Jim. Are you still at headquarters?_"

"Yes, Bones, I am. Is something wrong?"

"_Where's Rebecca?_"

"In her debriefing." Kirk rose from his seat and began to pace.

"_Goddammit, how long is it going to take?_"

"How should I know? It can't be that much longer…"

"_It better not be. It's almost 1700 hours!" _Pause._ "How was she? Before she went in?_"

"She was obviously stressed…" Kirk trailed off, uncertain. "She, uh, wouldn't talk except to tell her crewmembers not to stick around…told them to leave as soon as they were finished…Some of them wanted to stay."

"_And she told them to piss off, huh?_"

"Well…yeah. Though not in those exact words."

He heard a heavy sigh from his friend. "_You know…_" McCoy spoke reluctantly, "..._she barely slept last night. She kept thrashing around_."

"So I guess you didn't sleep much either."

"_No, not really_." The doctor's voice suddenly grew more distant, like he wasn't speaking directly into his communicator. "_What was that, Reynard? Yeah, be right there._" His voice grew clearer again. "_Jim, can you let me know when they let Rebecca out?_"

"I'll do better than that. I'll bring her back to your place."

"_Thanks. McCoy out_."

Kirk snapped his communicator shut. "Well, I guess I'm actually stuck here, then," he muttered.

He paced around for a few more minutes, finally sat down on one of the hall chairs, then got up and paced again, earning the bemused glances of a couple unfamiliar officers who happened to pass by.

Roughly a half an hour after McCoy had called, Rebecca walked out of the meeting room, her back ramrod-straight. But moment the door shut behind her, her steps faltered. Before Kirk could move to assist her, she stumbled to one of the chairs and dropped down in it, doubling over with her hands covering her face. Her breathing was ragged and Kirk could have sworn that he heard something akin to a whimper escape her.

Unsure of what to do, the younger man sat next to her and awkwardly patted her back. After a few minutes, when her choking breaths steadied, he asked, "Um…do you need anything?" _Please tell me she's not going into shock again…Should I call McCoy?_

He was about to ask her that when she sat up and brushed back her hair with shaking hands. However, her face, while pale, exhibited a calm expression. "No, just…just get me out of here."

Striding through the halls of Starfleet Headquarters, Kirk kept sneaking sideways glances at the woman beside him.

He recalled earlier comments from her, insisting that she was still interested in staying in Starfleet. _Has she changed her mind?_

She noticed his glances. "Don't worry, Kirk, your little 'mistake' in your report wasn't explicitly stated. I had a talk with my crew earlier…Though I think the officials suspect you fouled something up and just didn't care…"

It took him a second to figure out what she was referring too. "Oh, right, that." _I did omit the fact that Reynard was on the ship for a few days before she and the others were, didn't I? _In his initial situation report, he'd neglected to mention the boy. Later, with his completed report of the mission, he'd stayed with that story. It wasn't as if Starfleet wasn't used to frequent "discrepancies" in the reports they received from the _Enterprise_. As of late, none had been as serious as Kirk's flat-out lies about what had occurred on Nibiru, and he had a feeling that some people in Starfleet suspected him but overall "turned a blind eye." He doubted that they considered Reynard a vital part of the whole affair, so that probably wouldn't be an issue now or ever. "Well, thanks, I guess," he said anyway as they left the main building and started down the front steps.

"Honestly, Kirk, I don't give a…Oh, shit." Rebecca halted, staring at someone at the bottom of the stairs.

"What?" Kirk followed her gaze. "Oh, isn't that Evan Shaw? I thought he was your second-in-command…Speaking of that, how come he was a lieutenant and you and ensign and yet you ended up in charge? Did you promote him?"

Rebecca started moving down the steps again, much more slowly. "I never promoted anybody. He was in the science division; I was a bridge officer. It just fell out that way. And my captain promoted me to lieutenant commander just before he died. He didn't actually have any other options."

"Okay. So he's your second-in-command…and I thought he was your friend. But not lately."

Rebecca sighed as they approached the subject of their conversation. "It's none of your business, Kirk."

"Rebecca!" called Shaw from where he stood a short distance away. "Can I talk to you?"

Kirk watched as Rebecca hesitated, then nodded. "Give me a minute, Kirk."

"Sure."

She nodded briefly and walked off towards her second-in-command, once again straight-backed, her footsteps steady. Kirk watched her and Shaw as they spoke quietly for a couple minutes. Then Rebecca let out strained laugh. She and Shaw embraced...rather uncomfortably, he noted...then the lieutenant turned and went to join another man who resembled him...a relative, Kirk supposed. Rebecca came back to him, expression stony but her eyes red-rimmed.

"Shall we go then? I'll take you back to McCoy's."

She nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

They took a cab back to Leonard's apartment, remaining silent the entire journey.

Rebecca kept on running over the debriefing, which in reality had been more of a flat-out interrogation. They hadn't cared about life on Quirinus IV, or what had happened once she and her crew were on the _Enterprise_, or even the rescue on the planetoid. They had all the information they needed concerning that.

But all those things Rebecca could've talked about just fine. She could've even talked about Reynard, something that they definitely hadn't cared about.

_And why would they? He's just a child, an accident,the result of two young people "getting physical"."_

One of the officials had actually said those last words near the beginning of the meeting. If there'd been a projectile of some sort handy, Rebecca would've thrown it, etiquette be damned.

No, they had wanted to know about the deaths...who died, how, and when...the behavior of the Klingons...Rebecca was convinced that the same ones who had attacked the _Brigadier_ were at least affiliated with the ones who came back years later with disastrous results, and had said so...and exactly what had happened when the _Brigadier_ had gone down.

In other words, they had made Rebecca relive almost every moment of the crash, relate the details of the deaths she witnessed, and explain her decisions as Acting Captain.

She tried to tell herself that their questions were professional, that they were just doing their jobs, but it had felt increasingly as if they were trying to trap her into admitting some kind of guilt. They managed, at times, to destroy what little confidence she still had in herself. It felt so…_personal_.

_"Do you think you made the right decision, ordering the crew to abandon ship?"_

That question had hit her like a blow to the gut, and yet it was the one she had answered the most confidently.

_"Sir, if I hadn't, I wouldn't be standing here. I didn't make the right decision…I made the only one."_

Afterwards, all she wanted to do was curl up in a corner somewhere and cry her eyes out.

But that would have to wait. After she got back to the apartment, she could break down completely.

_I'll probably have to hold myself together in front of Reynard…won't have to bother with Leonard, though…_

She'd come close to crying right in front of Starfleet Headquarters when she'd spoken with Evan.

For the last few days on the Enterprise, she'd avoided him, instead concentrating on keeping Leonard close at all times. She felt that Evan had also avoided her.

Then her second-in-command had wanted to talk. And she'd known it would be wrong to refuse.

_"Rebecca, I want to apologize."_

_"For what? You didn't do anything."_

_"I pushed your boundaries. For that I am truly sorry."_

_"Evan…"_

_"I just want to say that I understand. You love Dr. McCoy, you always have, and there's nothing I can do about it."_

_"Evan, I'm sorry…"_

_"It's okay, really. I've seen the way he looks at you."_

Evan had then changed the subject, telling her that he planned to stay in Starfleet, perhaps transfer to one of the new starbases, saying that he "still had a few good years of work left in him yet."

She'd managed a laugh, then given him a hug. And just like that, they walked away from each other, without any mention of future meetings.

She was fairly certain that she'd broken the heart of a man who had been her closest confidant for the last decade. She knew that she should feel guilty. Instead, she felt liberated. He understood her feelings, though he might not like it, and that understanding would have to be enough. For both of them.

Leaning her head against the cab window, watching the streets of San Francisco slip past through bleary eyes. As the buildings and other hovercars blurred together in her vision, it finally struck her.

_It's over._

It was over. She had not yet allowed herself to believe that the ordeal had ended, that the years of isolation and struggle had come to a close.

The future might be uncertain, but at least she knew there was one beyond dusty rocks and a sweltering purple sky.

And she had Leonard and Reynard, of course.

She let out a sort of stifled chuckle that must have sounded like a sob to her companion. "Uh, Rebecca? You okay?"

Looking around at Kirk and taking a deep breath, she said, "Yeah. I'm okay."

Sometime soon she'd probably break down and cry. But she felt that it was no longer imminent.

Everything was okay, for this moment. And she intended to enjoy it.

So she smiled when they arrived at the apartment and Reynard ran to hug her. She told Leonard, for the most part honestly, that she was fine. She even felt generous enough to ask Kirk to stay for dinner, an invitation which he readily accepted.

While she went to change out of the dull grey uniform she had worn to the debriefings, Leonard followed her into the bedroom, wanting to talk.

_That's all I've done all day: talk, talk, talk. _Still, she'd rather speak with Leonard than anyone else. "What's wrong, Len? You don't like having the captain as a dinner guest?" she asked teasingly as she as stripped down to her underclothes and started rummaging around for her clean pair of sweatpants and a comfortable shirt.

When he didn't answer for a minute, she turned around, clothes draped over one arm. "Leonard, what…"

"Sorry, just lost my train of thought for a second." But she noticed how he quickly averted his gaze from her.

_Oh, good heavens. _She couldn't suppress a grin. "Don't be embarrassed. I'm flattered.

Deliberately keeping his eyes on her face, he said, "You sound surprised."

"Well, I am. I haven't aged all that well."

"Neither have I."

"I guess that's why it doesn't matter." She slipped her shirt over her head. "So, did you actually have something to say or did you just come in here to ogle me?"

"_Rebecca_…" Leonard groaned before saying, "I called my mother today."

Rebecca froze. Eyes wide, she stared at Leonard and demanded, "How did she react to…everything?" For a moment, she feared the absolute worst of the situation. Namely, a furious or even rejecting Charlotte McCoy.

"She was overjoyed to hear that you were alive." Leonard fidgeted. "I think she nearly had a heart attack when I told her about Reynard, though. I _did_ try to break it to her gently."

Rebecca winced. "Did she…scold you or anything?"

"Well, yeah…mostly because I didn't call her until today."

Pulling on her sweatpants, Rebecca observed, "You did put it off for a absurdly long time. Didn't you send her that message saying you were planning to visit but that you'd call her later…"

"Yeah, I know I took too long…nervous, I guess…she wanted to talk to Reynard, so I let her."

"And?" _What did she think of her completely unexpected grandchild?_

"I'd say she already adores him."

"Thank God."

"You thought she wouldn't?"

Rebecca shrugged. "I don't know, I just thought…I don't know what I was thinking."

Only half-teasingly, Leonard queried, "Afraid of disappointing my mother?"

"Well…yes." She undid her ponytail, ran her fingers through her hair, and retied it. Sighing, she muttered, "I should get a haircut."

"I like it long," Leonard said. "I hated it when you cut it short during your Academy years…"

She laughed and walked over to hug him. Resting her head against his shoulder, she said, "I suppose we should be working on dinner."

"Yeah, I guess." But they spent a few more minutes in an embrace, listening to the sound of Jim Kirk and Reynard's voices coming through the door. Apparently the captain and the boy were talking about the _Enterprise_, which, come to think of it, they did a lot.

After a while, Leonard loosened his grip on Rebecca and asked quietly, "How was it today? I mean, truthfully?"

Rebecca sighed and stepped back, looking up into his face. "It was hell," she admitted. "But I lived through it. I'll be all right."

He nodded, then leaned down and kissed her. "Just checking."

She smiled at him. Yes, some other day she would collapse, but he'd be there to catch her. And she would be all right.

The calm which now encompassed her continued through dinner, during which she spoke little but listened instead to Kirk's boisterous tales of adventures on the _Enterprise_, interrupted occasionally by questions from Reynard and sarcastic comments from Leonard.

She was only shocked out of her calm once.

It was such an innocent thing, really. During a lull in the conversation, Reynard asked politely, "Can you pass me the salad, Dad?"

Leonard complied, then did a double take. He stared at Reynard, then looked over at Rebecca, who dropped her fork. Kirk was gaping, too.

_Did Reynard just…_

As of yet, Reynard had only called Leonard "Dr. McCoy", and apparently he'd stopped doing that as soon as he found out the doctor was his father. He didn't actually call Leonard_ anything_; he just managed to phrase his speech and make enough eye contact so that if he was talking to Leonard, everyone would know it.

Glancing at her son, who was now ignoring their stares helping himself to salad, Rebecca noted his too-blank face.

_He planned this._

She exchanged another look with Leonard, who smiled and started eating again.

Reynard was smiling, too, seemingly pleased.

_Yes, everything's going to be all right._

* * *

McCoy walked out of the bedroom to find Rebecca sitting on the arm of the living room couch. Curled up on the couch itself with a pillow and a pile of blankets was Reynard, apparently fast asleep.

Rebecca stood up when she saw Leonard approach. "He falls asleep way faster than I did at his age."

As she turned back to the boy, Leonard came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him as they silently watched their son for a minute.

"Len?"

"Yes?"

"Can I meet your daughter?"

He winced. Joanna was one subject they'd avoided before. "Yeah, if you want. I'll give Jocelyn a call when we get to Georgia."

"Hmm." Rebecca twisted around in his arms until she was facing him. "Why did you marry her, Leonard?" She spoke in a whisper, but her disdain was clear in her tone.

"Don't take offense, but…Jocelyn's very good-looking. And that's about the only positive thing about her...at least when she's around me. I mean, she's got her good points...she's a great mom, actually...but she's...well, she was never anything like you."

"Fair enough." Rebecca sighed, then snorted. "You're a man, after all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He pretended to sound offended.

Rebecca rolled her eyes, detached herself from his embrace, and took his hand. "Let's go to bed. I'm exhausted. Though I suppose Kirk's just starting his evening…"

"Probably. Goddamn idiot." McCoy muttered as they went into the bedroom. Since Reynard wasn't in the room with them...though he still kept showing up every other night or so...they allowed themselves a bit of a make-out session before they cuddled up together to sleep. Neither of them were ready to take it any further yet, though McCoy would be lying if he said he hadn't been thinking about it earlier when Rebecca had practically stripped in front of him.

_No pushing Rebecca beyond her own pace. _That self-imposed rule still applied.

But things were finally falling into place.

Rebecca wanted to stay in Starfleet. She'd have to go through retraining first, as would the rest of her crew who decided the same. Leonard would request extra leave so as to stay with her. Then she'd get a post aboard a ship again.

Of course, she wanted to be stationed on the _Enterprise_.

_Shouldn't be too difficult to make that happen. Though there would be more of a "visible" reason for it if she and I were married…_

He fully intended to ask her to marry him eventually. His proposal to Jocelyn had been about as awkward as a proposal could get without ending in a refusal, and he detested the idea of having a similar experience with Rebecca.

_I'll just wait until she's adjusted to normal life again, then I'll ask her._

And there was also the question of Reynard. If they were both planning to go back into space, they had to figure out what to do with their child.

For a short time, they'd seriously considered leaving Starfleet altogether, or at least getting stationed on Earth, in order to take care of their son. But Leonard knew that Rebecca wanted to go back into space, and he wasn't letting her go without him again.

Eventually, they'd decided that they would figure out a way to take Reynard with them.

Leonard had resisted the idea at first.

_"We could stay on Earth…or we could even leave him with my mother, if she was all right with that…but we can't take him gallivanting around the galaxy! The _Enterprise _is no family ship, and besides, how is he supposed to be a normal kid if he spends all his time aboard a goddamn starship?"_

Rebecca had finally convinced him by stating the unfortunate truth.

_"Leonard, he's never going to be a 'normal' kid. It's just not possible, and we both know it. I honestly believe that if we asked him…and we should…he would want to live on board the _Enterprise. _In any case, he'd want to stay with us. And I'm not losing my son again."_

They'd have to work it out with Starfleet Command, but McCoy was unusually optimistic. They had all the right arguments. Jim had promised to put in a good word on their behalf as well, for what that was worth.

_It'll work out._

For now, all they had to worry about was introducing Reynard to his grandmother, and Rebecca to Joanna…

_How is my daughter going to react? _McCoy didn't even know if she'd be able to understand the situation yet.

Right now, though, he was too tired to think about it any more. The trip to Georgia and any ensuing conflicts would have to wait until tomorrow, which at the moment seemed far in the future.

With a contented sigh, he scooted closer to Rebecca, breathing in her scent. _You're never leaving me now, darlin', _he thought to himself.

Out loud, he whispered, "I love you."

He'd thought she was asleep. But as he also drifted towards slumber, he heard her whisper back, "Love you too."


	17. Epilogue

About two weeks after the _Enterprise_ brought them back to Earth, they attended the memorial service for the _Brigadier_'s lost crewmembers, along hundreds of Starfleet personnel, family members of the deceased, and all the surviving crew members.

He'd been waiting for her to snap. Midway through the service, she did.

He'd only ever seen her cry that hard once before. As he had the last time, he held her while she cried.

Thankfully no one had forced her give some kind of speech during the memorial. She'd been asked; but in the end, her former-second-in-command did it.

_Probably a very good thing._

* * *

The _Enterprise_ and most of her crew departed shortly afterwards.

"So, Bones, you haven't told me how it went with Joanna."

"She likes Rebecca okay, though when she and Reynard are in the same room together it's as goddamn awkward."

"Aw, well. They're kids. They'll figure it out eventually. And your ex?"

"She demanded that I explain the whole damn situation to her."

"It must have been hell."

"You said it. Now, Jim, while you're gallivanting around space without me to keep an eye on you, try not to get killed, all right?"

"Sure thing, Bones. You know me!"

"Unfortunately. I'll have to ask the hobgoblin to keep an eye on you, then."

"I think he does already. But you'll be joining us in a few months, right?"

"Yes, _we_ will."

* * *

It took some arguing, but they were allowed to bring keep their son on the _Enterprise_ with them. They'd be responsible for continuing his education, and with so many highly educated people aboard the ship, including themselves, they doubted that would be much of a problem.

Technically, children were not allowed on starships like the _Enterprise_ for extended periods of time.

But there could be exceptions.

* * *

"You turned down a possible command."

"Yes."

"The command of a _starship_?"

"Yes! Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I just thought…well, it wasn't part of our plans, but…eventually getting a command used to be your goal, wasn't it?"

"Yes, a decade ago."

"So?"

"So I was captain of a starship for a few minutes. Then I was leader of the remaining crew for thirteen years. I never want to be in command again. Therefore I turned it down."

A long pause. "Jim's going to have one hell of a time when he finds out about this."

* * *

After a extended stay in Georgia, they went back to San Francisco.

Their son remained behind until they could set up their new apartment, which was the same as the old one except that it had two bedrooms.

_"Making the kid sleep on a couch every time we're on Earth is just plain ridiculous. I don't care how infrequent it is. And right now we're stuck here for months anyway."_

One of those evenings they had to themselves, they went to a bar. They didn't stay long; he didn't feel like getting drunk and she was a "lightweight." Still, they were both a bit tipsy when they left and went back to the apartment.

Then, as they say, "one thing led to another".

He was immensely relieved when there was no unease between them the next morning.

When he mentioned that to her, she burst out laughing.

_"Oh, Len, I really do love you."_

* * *

The question came out involuntarily one golden evening while they were walking arm-in-arm in the park together, just the two of them.

"Marry me."

"Sure."

Pause. "Are you certain that you know what you just agreed to?"

"Yes." She smiled up at him, almost smugly. "I've been waiting a while for this. If you'd waited much longer I would've asked you."

"Seriously?"

"Possibly."

They laughed. Then he said, "So, that's a yes?"

"Do I need to put it in writing?"

"Of course not."

* * *

Later he would reflect that it was the smallest, quickest wedding he'd ever attended. The ceremony was little more than a quick exchange of vows. No one was invited besides a few close family and friends. Everyone else he would have invited were light years away by that point.

_Jim will give me hell for this, but he'll live._

But all in all, he had a much better time at his second wedding than his first.

He supposed it had to do with the woman he was marrying.

* * *

Six months later, the _Enterprise_ welcomed back aboard their CMO, his second wife, who now had the rank of lieutenant, and their son, who ended up receiving more attention from the other crewmembers than either of his parents did.

_Well, go figure._

Life aboard the ship, which continued on its five-year mission, soon went back to normal. As normal as it ever could get aboard the _Enterprise._

And if the chief medical officer seemed to consistently be in a far better mood than anyone had ever seen him in before, they didn't mention it.

He certainly had his reasons.


End file.
